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sowbread

[sou-bred]
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noun
  1. any of several species of cyclamen, especially Cyclamen hederifolium, a low-growing Old World plant having mottled leaves and pink or white flowers.
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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
  1. a S European primulaceous plant, Cyclamen hederifolium, with heart-shaped leaves and pink nodding flowersSee also cyclamen (def. 1)
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Word Origin

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