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hound's-tongue

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hound's-tongue

[houndz-tuhng]
–noun
any of various plants belonging to the genus Cynoglossum, of the borage family, esp. C. officinale, having coarse, tongue-shaped leaves, dull purple flowers, and prickly nutlets.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE hundestunge, trans. of L cynoglōssos < Gk kynóglōssos, kynóglōsson (adj.) lit., dog-tongued
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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hound's-tongue   (houndz'tŭng')
n.  Any of several Eurasian plants of the genus Cynoglossum, having hairy leaves, small reddish-purple flowers, and prickly clinging fruit.

[Middle English houndes-tongue, from Old English hundes-tunge (translation of Latin cynoglōssus, from Greek kunoglōssos) : hundes, genitive of hund, hound; see hound + tunge, tongue; see tongue.]
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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Encyclopedia

hound's-tongue

any of 75 species of the plant genus Cynoglossum, in the family Boraginaceae, including the bright-blue-flowered Chinese forget-me-not (C. amabile), native in mostly temperate areas of the New World and Old World. They are named for their usually rough, tongue-shaped leaves.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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