speedwell

[ speed-wel ]

noun
  1. any of several plants, shrubs, or small trees of the genus Veronica, of the figwort family, having opposite leaves and small flowers.

Origin of speedwell

1
1570–80; speed + well1; so called because its petals fade and fall early

Words Nearby speedwell

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use speedwell in a sentence

  • After a short delay both vessels set out together; but they soon had to put back, because the speedwell proved unsafe.

    The Story of the Thirteen Colonies | H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber
  • Low-growing lavender-colored phlox appears in masses, and Cusick's speedwell forms large patches of low-lying blue.

    Your National Parks | Enos A. Mills
  • And they should never have built those two last ships, the speedwell and the Goodhope; the return on them didn't justify it.

    Space Viking | Henry Beam Piper
  • They managed to charter for this purpose two small vessels, the speedwell and the Mayflower.

    The Story of American History | Albert F. Blaisdell
  • The speedwell was found to be unseaworthy and was abandoned.

British Dictionary definitions for speedwell

speedwell

/ (ˈspiːdˌwɛl) /


noun
  1. any of various temperate scrophulariaceous plants of the genus Veronica, such as V. officinalis (heath speedwell) and V. chamaedrys (germander speedwell), having small blue or pinkish white flowers

Origin of speedwell

1
C16: from speed + well 1

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