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periwinkle

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per⋅i⋅win⋅kle

1  [per-i-wing-kuhl]
Use periwinkle in a Sentence
–noun
1. any of various marine gastropods or sea snails, esp. Littorina littorea, used for food in Europe.
2. the shell of any of these animals.
Origin:
1520–30; perh. reflecting (through assimilation to periwinkle 2 ) OE pīnewincle, equiv. to pīne (< L pīna < Gk pîna, var. of pínna kind of mollusk) + wincle, c. dial. Dan vinkel snail shell
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per⋅i⋅win⋅kle

2  [per-i-wing-kuhl]
–noun
1. Also called myrtle. a trailing plant, Vinca minor, of the dogbane family, having glossy, evergreen foliage and usually blue-violet flowers.
2. any of several similar plants of the genus Vinca or Catharanthus.
Origin:
bef. 1000; earlier pervinkle, perwinkle, alter. (see -le ) of ME perwinke, pervinke < AF pervenke (OF pervenche) < LL pervinca, L vi(n)capervi(n)ca; cf. OE peruince, MHG ber(e)winke < LL pervinca

Related forms:
per⋅i⋅win⋅kled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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per·i·win·kle 1   (pěr'ĭ-wĭng'kəl)   
n.  

  1. Any of several small, often edible marine snails, especially of the genus Littorina, having thick, cone-shaped, whorled shells.

  2. The shell of any of the periwinkles.


[Middle English *periwinkle, probably alteration (influenced by pervinkle, periwinkle (plant)) of Old English pīnewincle : Latin pīna, mussel (from Greek pīnē) + Old English -wincel, snail shell.]
per·i·win·kle 2   (pěr'ĭ-wĭng'kəl)   
n.  

  1. Any of several shrubby, trailing, evergreen plants of the genus Vinca, especially V. minor, having glossy, dark green, opposite leaves and flowers with a blue, funnel-shaped corolla. Also called myrtle.

  2. Any of several erect herbs of the genus Catharanthus, especially C. roseus, having flowers with a rose-pink or white salverform corolla and a closed throat.

  3. A pale purplish blue.


[Middle English pervinkle, diminutive of pervinke, from Old English pervince, from Latin (vinca) pervinca, from pervincīre, to wind about.]
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

periwinkle  (1)
"evergreen plant," 1501, dim. of parvink (12c.), from O.E. perwince, from L.L. pervinca "periwinkle" (4c.), from L., from pervincire "to entwine, bind," from per- "thoroughly" + vincire "to bind, fetter."

periwinkle  (2)
"kind of sea snail," 1530, alt. of O.E. pinewincle, probably by infl. of M.E. parvink (see periwinkle (1)), from O.E. pine- (probably from L. pina "mussel," from Gk. pine) + wincel "corner."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: per·i·win·kle
Pronunciation: 'per-i-"wi[ng]-k&l
Function: noun
: any of several trailing or woody evergreen plants ofthe dogbane family (Apocynaceae); especially : ROSY PERIWINKLE
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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