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Definition of pansy - 5 dictionary results

pan⋅sy

  [pan-zee]
Use pansy in a Sentence
–noun, plural -sies.
1. a violet, Viola tricolor hortensis, cultivated in many varieties, having richly and variously colored flowers.
2. the flower of this plant.
3. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
a. a male homosexual.
b. a weak, effeminate, and often cowardly man.
Origin:
1490–1500; 1930–35 for def. 3; < MF pensée pansy, lit., thought, n. use of fem. of ptp. of penser to think < L pēnsāre to weigh, consider. See pensive

Pan⋅sy

  [pan-zee]
–noun
a female given name.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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pan·sy   (pān'zē)   
n.   pl. pan·sies
  1. Any of various plants of the genera Achimenes or Viola, especially V. tricolor or its hybrids, having flowers with velvety petals of various colors.
  2. A deep to strong violet.
  3. Offensive Slang
    1. Used as a disparaging term for a man or boy who is considered effeminate.
    2. Used as a disparaging term for a homosexual man.

[Middle English pancy, from Old French pensee, thought, remembrance, pansy, from feminine past participle of penser, to think; see pensive.]
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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Pansy

Pan"sy\, n.; pl. Pansies. [F. Pens['e]e thought, pansy, fr. penser to think, L. pensare to weigh, ponder. See Pensive.] (Bot.) A plant of the genus Viola (V. tricolor) and its blossom, originally purple and yellow. Cultivated varieties have very large flowers of a great diversity of colors. Called also heart's-ease, love-in-idleness, and many other quaint names.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : pansy
Spanish: pensamiento,
German: das Stiefmütterchen,
Japanese: 三色すみれ
More Translations »

pansy 
c.1450, from M.Fr. pensée "a pansy," lit. "thought, remembrance," from fem. pp. of penser "to think," from L. pensare "consider," freq. of pendere "to weigh" (see pensive). So called because it was regarded as a symbol of thought or remembrance. Meaning "effeminate homosexual man" is first recorded 1929.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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