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nasturtium - 4 dictionary results
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nas⋅tur⋅tium
[na-stur-shuh
m, nuh-] 
–noun
| any plant of the genus Tropaeolum, cultivated for its showy, usually orange, red, or yellow flowers or for its fruit, which is pickled and used like capers. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To nasturtium
| nas·tur·tium (nə-stûr'shəm, nā-) n.
[Middle English nasturcium, a kind of cress, from Latin nasturtium : perhaps nāsus, nose; see nas- in Indo-European roots + *tortāre, frequentative of torquēre, to twist (from its pungent smell); see terkw- in Indo-European roots.] |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Nasturtium
Nas*tur"tium\, n. [L. nasturtium, for nasitortium, fr. nasus nose + torquere, tortum, to twist, torture, in allusion to the causing one to make a wry face by its pungent taste. See Nose of the face, and Torture.]1. (Bot.) A genus of cruciferous plants, having white or yellowish flowers, including several species of cress. They are found chiefly in wet or damp grounds, and have a pungent biting taste. 2. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Trop[ae]olum, geraniaceous herbs, having mostly climbing stems, peltate leaves, and spurred flowers, and including the common Indian cress (Trop[ae]olum majus), the canary-bird flower (T. peregrinum), and about thirty more species, all natives of South America. The whole plant has a warm pungent flavor, and the fleshy fruits are used as a substitute for capers, while the leaves and flowers are sometimes used in salads.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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nasturtium
c.1150, "plant like watercress," from L. nasturtium "cress;" the popular etymology explanation of the name (Pliny) is that it is from L. *nasitortium, lit. "nose-twist," from nasus "nose" + pp. of torquere "to twist" (see thwart); the plant so called for its pungent odor. Modern application to S.Amer. trailing plant with orange flowers first recorded 1704.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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