saxifrage

[ sak-suh-frij ]

noun
  1. any plant of the genus Saxifraga, certain species of which grow wild in the clefts of rocks, other species of which are cultivated for their flowers.

Origin of saxifrage

1
1400–50; late Middle English <Latin saxifraga (herba) stone-breaking (herb), equivalent to saxi-, combining form of saxum stone + -fraga, feminine of -fragus breaking; see fragile

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British Dictionary definitions for saxifrage

saxifrage

/ (ˈsæksɪˌfreɪdʒ) /


noun
  1. any saxifragaceous plant of the genus Saxifraga, characterized by smallish white, yellow, purple, or pink flowers

Origin of saxifrage

1
C15: from Late Latin saxifraga, literally: rock-breaker (probably alluding to its ability to dissolve kidney stones), from Latin saxum rock + frangere to break

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012