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heather

 - 5 dictionary results
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heath⋅er

[heth-er]
–noun
1. any of various heaths, esp. Calluna vulgaris, of England and Scotland, having small, pinkish-purple flowers.
–adjective
2. (of a yarn or fabric color) subtly flecked or mottled: all-cotton turtlenecks in your choice of five solid colors plus heather gray and heather green.

Origin:
1300–50; sp. var. of hether, earlier hedder, hadder, hather, ME hathir; akin to heath


heathered, adjective
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Heath⋅er

[heth-er]
–noun
a female given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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heath   (hēth)   
n.  
  1. Any of various usually low-growing shrubs of the genus Erica and related genera, native to Europe and South Africa and having small evergreen leaves and small, colorful, urn-shaped flowers. Also called heather.

  2. An extensive tract of uncultivated open land covered with herbage and low shrubs; a moor.


[Middle English, uncultivated land, from Old English hǣth; see kaito- in Indo-European roots.]
heath·er   (hěth'ər)   
n.  
  1. A low-growing Eurasian shrub (Calluna vulgaris) growing in dense masses and having small evergreen leaves and clusters of small, bell-shaped pinkish-purple flowers. Also called ling2.

  2. See heath.

  3. A grayish purple to purplish red.


[Alteration (influenced by heath) of Middle English hather, probably from Old English *hǣddre.]
heath'er adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

heather 
1335, hathir, from O.E. *hæddre, Scot. or northern England dial. name for Calluna vulgaris, probably altered by heath, but exact connection to that word uncertain.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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