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saxifrage

[ sak-suh-frij ]

noun

  1. 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.


saxifrage

/ ˈsæksɪˌfreɪdʒ /

noun

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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of saxifrage1

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

Origin of saxifrage1

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

Endless are the ranks of the saxifrage family in white; countless the numbers of the pink family.

Chrysosplenium oppositifolium, opposite golden saxifrage—in the dark and rocky hollow lanes.

Helen was preoccupied with her saxifrage and her purple gloves.

He laid the Bible down upon the table, and seized the saxifrage.

But she blushed like a schoolgirl when she gave him, saxifrage and all, her ungloved hand.

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saxifragaceoussaxifrage family