speedwell

American

[speed-wel] / ˈspidˌwɛl /

noun

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

speedwell British

/ ˈspiːdˌwɛl /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of speedwell

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

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.

Edale Mountain Rescue Team said a hiker fell above Derbyshire's Speedwell Cavern at about 19:00 BST on Saturday.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2023

Halstead Springs of Speedwell, Tennessee, finished second and there was a tie for third between Asagiri no Shizuku of Shizuka, Japan, and Smeraldina Still Water of Sardinia, Italy.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2022

Launched in conjunction with environmental data company Speedwell, the ICAP-Speedwell Climate Index would be based on data collected from 50 independent weather stations globally, it said.

From Reuters • Oct. 27, 2021

They stayed for more than a decade before some of them departed aboard the Speedwell in 1620.

From New York Times • Mar. 10, 2020

As they went over the bank they met Speedwell and Hawkbit returning.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023