[kol-uh
m-bahyn] 
| 1. | a plant, Aquilegia caerula, of the buttercup family, having showy flowers with white petals and white to blue sepals that form long, backward spurs: the state flower of Colorado. |
| 2. | any of various other plants of the genus Aquilegia, characterized by divided leaves and showy flowers of various colors. |
[kol-uhm-bahyn, -bin] | 1. | of a dove. |
| 2. | dovelike; dove-colored. |
[kol-uhm-bahyn] | 1. | a female character in commedia dell'arte and pantomime: sweetheart of Harlequin. |
| 2. | a female given name. |
| col·um·bine (kŏl'əm-bīn') n. Any of various perennial herbs of the genus Aquilegia native to north temperate regions, cultivated for their showy, variously colored flowers that have petals with long hollow spurs. Also called aquilegia. [Middle English, from Medieval Latin columbīna, from feminine of Latin columbīnus, dovelike (from the resemblance of the inverted flower to a cluster of doves), from columba, dove.] |
Columbine
stock theatrical character that originated about 1530 in Italian commedia dell'arte as a saucy and adroit servant girl; her Italian name means "Little Dove." Her costume included a cap and apron but seldom a commedia mask, and she usually spoke in the Tuscan dialect. In French theatre the character became a lady's maid and intrigant and assumed a variety of roles opposite Cassandre, Pantalone (Pantaloon), Harlequin, and Pierrot. In English comedies she was usually the daughter or ward of Pantaloon and in love with Harlequin. The soubrette of the 20th-century musical comedy is a version of the Columbine character
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