an Old World plant, Anemone pulsatilla, of the buttercup family, having purple, crocuslike flowers blooming about Easter.
2.
a related plant, A. patens, having similar flowers: the state flower of South Dakota.
Origin: Pasque (variant spelling of Pasch) + flower (so named by the herbalist Gerarde in 1597); replacing passeflower < Middle French passefleur;see pass