sowbread

[sou-bred]

noun

any of several species of cyclamen, especially Cyclamen hederifolium, a low-growing Old World plant having mottled leaves and pink or white flowers.

Origin of sowbread

1540–50; sow² + bread; so called because the roots are sought after by hogs

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

British Dictionary definitions for sowbread

sowbread

noun

a S European primulaceous plant, Cyclamen hederifolium, with heart-shaped leaves and pink nodding flowersSee also cyclamen (def. 1)

Word Origin for sowbread

C16: from sow ² + bread, based on Medieval Latin panis porcinus; the tuberous roots are eaten by swine

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