scabious
1 Americannoun
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Also called pincushion flower. any of various plants belonging to the genus Scabiosa, of the teasel family, having opposite leaves and often showy flower heads in a variety of colors.
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any of various similar or related plants.
noun
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any plant of the genus Scabiosa, esp S. atropurpurea, of the Mediterranean region, having blue, red, or whitish dome-shaped flower heads: family Dipsacaceae
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any of various similar plants of the related genus Knautia
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a similar and related Eurasian marsh plant, Succisa pratensis
adjective
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having or covered with scabs
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of, relating to, or resembling scabies
Etymology
Origin of scabious1
First recorded in 1595–1605; scabi(es) + -ous
Origin of scabious2
1350–1400; Middle English scabiose < Medieval Latin scabiōsa ( herba ) scabies-curing (herb); see scabies, -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Others include the adonis blue butterfly, the armed nomad bee and the red-tailed mason bee, the shining pot beetle and the large scabious mining bee.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
In addition to fulfilling custom orders, they offer a single fresh arrangement each week, available in three sizes, consisting of a lively mix of blooms such as sunflowers, delphiniums, dahlias, agapanthus and scabious.
From New York Times ● Nov. 18, 2020
By recreating the glades which once existed in dense forest cover, they provide home for up to 120 flowering species, among them the devil's-bit scabious, globeflower, great burnet, lady's-mantle, oxeye daisy, pignut and wood crane's-bill.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 13, 2012
She climbs up the wire gauze and proceeds to graze among her companions on the bindweed or scabious, without troubling herself further about her eggs, whose hiding-place is only half-filled.
From The Glow-Worm and Other Beetles by Teixeira de Mattos, Alexander
Close to them a mountain-ash overhung the deep, and about the scabious at the foot of it butterflies hovered, part of the airy light.
From The Tower of Oblivion by Onions, Oliver [pseud.]
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
