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

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

First comes the orange lilium elegans, then scarlet lychnis and later, tiger lilies.

From Trees, Fruits and Flowers of Minnesota, 1916 Embracing the Transactions of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society,Volume 44, from December 1, 1915, to December 1, 1916, Including the Twelve Numbers of "The Minnesota Horticulturist" for 1916 by Latham, A. W.

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

Amid festuca and other tufted grasses twinkled the purple lychnis, and the white star of the chickweed; and, not without its pleasing associations, I recognised a solitary hesperis—the Arctic representative of the wallflowers of home.”

From The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism. Volume 3 by Whymper, Frederick

He with cowslips pale,   Primrose, and purple lychnis, deck'd the green   Before my threshold, and my shelving walls   With honeysuckle cover'd.

From Poetical Works of Akenside by Gilfillan, George