lychnis

American  

[lik-nis] / ˈlɪk nɪs /

noun

1. any showy-flowered plant belonging to the genus Lychnis, of the pink family.

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lychnis British  

/ ˈlɪknɪs /

noun

1. any caryophyllaceous plant of the genus Lychnis, having red, pink, or white five-petalled flowers See also ragged robin

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Etymology

Origin of lychnis

1595–1605; < Latin < Greek lychnís red flower, akin to lýchnos lamp

Example Sentences

The pink lychnis or ragged robin grows among the grasses; the iris flowers higher on the shore.

From The Hills and the Vale by Jefferies, Richard

And in connection with this saint we are told how:—   "The scarlet lychnis, the garden's pride,   Flames at St. John the Baptist's tyde."

From The Folk-lore of Plants by Dyer, T. F. Thiselton (Thomas Firminger Thiselton)

Beds of poppies, hollyhocks, scarlet lychnis, and the most flaming flowers, border the edge of the walks, which extend till the perspective meets, and swarm with ladies and gentlemen in parti-coloured raiment. 

From Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents by Beckford, William

Geranium, lychnis, rose array'd    The windows, all wide open thrown; And some one in the Study play'd    The Wedding-March of Mendelssohn.

From Angel in the House by Patmore, Coventry Kersey Dighton

Pliny and St. Isidore speak of a certain stone lychnis, of a scarlet or flame colour, which, when warmed by the sun or between the fingers, attracts straws or leaves of papyrus.

From On the magnet, magnetick bodies also, and on the great magnet the earth a new physiology, demonstrated by many arguments & experiments by Gilbert, William