saxifrage

[ sak-suh-frij ]
/ ˈsæk sə frɪdʒ /

noun

any plant of the genus Saxifraga, certain species of which grow wild in the clefts of rocks, other species of which are cultivated for their flowers.

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Compare saxifrage family.

Origin of saxifrage

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin saxifraga (herba) stone-breaking (herb), equivalent to saxi-, combining form of saxum stone + -fraga, feminine of -fragus breaking; see fragile

Words nearby saxifrage

saxe-weimar-eisenach, saxhorn, saxicoline, saxicolous, saxifragaceous, saxifrage, saxifrage family, saxitoxin, saxo grammaticus, saxon, saxon blue
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for saxifrage

British Dictionary definitions for saxifrage

saxifrage
/ (ˈsæksɪˌfreɪdʒ) /

noun

any saxifragaceous plant of the genus Saxifraga, characterized by smallish white, yellow, purple, or pink flowers

Word Origin for saxifrage

C15: from Late Latin saxifraga, literally: rock-breaker (probably alluding to its ability to dissolve kidney stones), from Latin saxum rock + frangere to break
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