petunia

[ pi-oo-nyuh, -nee-uh, -tyoo- ]

/ pɪˈu nyə, -ni ə, -ˈtyu- /

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noun

any garden plant belonging to the genus Petunia, of the nightshade family, native to tropical America, having funnel-shaped flowers of various colors.

a deep, reddish purple.

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Origin of petunia

1815–25; <New Latin <obsolete French petun tobacco <Tupi petyn;see -ia

Words nearby petunia

petty sessions, petulance, petulancy, petulant, petulantly, petunia, petuntse, Petworth House, peu à peu, peu de chose, Peul

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use petunia in a sentence

A better known member of the family is the Petunia, very handsome, but little better than an annual.
The plant-lore and garden-craft of Shakespeare|Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
There—just opposite—petunia bow in her bonnet—selling kittens.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 108, February 23, 1895|Various
His gaze wandered to Barbara, who, with Petunia, was curled up in a big old-fashioned rocker.
Shavings|Joseph C. Lincoln
Petunia, perched in lopsided fashion on a heap of mill-sides was, apparently, superintending.
Shavings|Joseph C. Lincoln

The major regarded Petunia, who was seated upon the heap of mill- sides, in a most haphazard and dissipated attitude.
Shavings|Joseph C. Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for petunia

petunia

/ (pɪˈtjuːnɪə) /

noun

any solanaceous plant of the tropical American genus Petunia: cultivated for their white, pink, blue, or purple funnel-shaped flowers

Word Origin for petunia

C19: via New Latin from obsolete French petun variety of tobacco, from Tupi petyn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012