shamrock

[sham-rok]

noun

any of several trifoliate plants, as the wood sorrel, Oxalis acetosella, or a small, pink-flowered clover, Trifolium repens minus, but especially Trifolium procumbens, a small, yellow-flowered clover: the national emblem of Ireland.

Origin of shamrock

1565–75; < Irish seamróg, equivalent to seamair clover + -óg diminutive suffix

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shamrock

Contemporary Examples of shamrock

Eventually Congress learned the NSA was also snooping on U.S. citizens through programs code named Minaret and Shamrock.
Spy Chief James Clapper: We Can’t Stop Another Snowden
Eli Lake
February 24, 2014

Historical Examples of shamrock

Yes, here is the shamrock—the rose, the ever blowing rose—and the thistle.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Then he puts the shamrock along with the rose—How would that do?
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Then he said nothing—but just put the rose and shamrock into my hand.
Tales And Novels, Volume 8 (of 10)
Maria Edgeworth
Also introduced the brogue and the shamrock into the Emerald Isle.
Who Was Who: 5000 B. C. to Date
Anonymous
They are connected with the palisading by rose, shamrock and thistle.
The Strand Magazine, Volume V, Issue 28, April 1893
Various

British Dictionary definitions for shamrock

shamrock

noun

a plant having leaves divided into three leaflets, variously identified as the wood sorrel, red clover, white clover, and black medick: the national emblem of Ireland

Word Origin for shamrock

C16: from Irish Gaelic seamrōg, diminutive of seamar clover

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

Word Origin and History for shamrock

1570s, from Irish seamrog, diminutive of seamar "clover." Cf. Gaelic seamrag "trefoil."