saxifrage

[ sak-suh-frij ]

/ ˈsæk sə frɪdʒ /

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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

How to use saxifrage in a sentence

Endless are the ranks of the saxifrage family in white; countless the numbers of the pink family.
Your National Parks|Enos A. Mills
Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, opposite golden saxifrage—in the dark and rocky hollow lanes.
The Natural History of Selborne, Vol. 2|Gilbert White
Helen was preoccupied with her saxifrage and her purple gloves.
A Singular Life|Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
He laid the Bible down upon the table, and seized the saxifrage.
A Singular Life|Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

But she blushed like a schoolgirl when she gave him, saxifrage and all, her ungloved hand.
A Singular Life|Elizabeth Stuart Phelps

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