scarlet-pimpernel
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pərˌnɛl, -nl noun
a plant belonging to the genus Anagallis, of the primrose family, especially A. arvensis (scarlet pimpernel) having scarlet or white flowers that close at the approach of bad weather.
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English pympernele < Middle French pimprenelle, nasalized variant of Old French piprenelle < Late Latin *piperīnella, equivalent to piper pepper + -īn- -ine1 + -ella diminutive suffix; replacing Old English pipeneale < Late Latin pipīnella, syncopated variant of *piperīnella
1400–50; late Middle English pympernele < Middle French pimprenelle, nasalized variant of Old French piprenelle < Late Latin *piperīnella, equivalent to piper pepper + -īn- -ine1 + -ella diminutive suffix; replacing Old English pipeneale < Late Latin pipīnella, syncopated variant of *piperīnella
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To scarlet-pimpernel
00:10
Scarlet-pimpernel
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
pimpernel (ˈpɪmpəˌnɛl, -nəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | any of several plants of the primulaceous genus Anagallis, such as the scarlet pimpernel, typically having small star-shaped flowers |
| 2. | any of several similar and related plants, such as Lysimachia nemorum (yellow pimpernel) |
| [C15: from Old French pimpernelle, ultimately from Latin piper | |
| scarlet pimpernel | |
| —n | |
| poor man's weatherglass, Also called: shepherd's weatherglass a weedy primulaceous plant, Anagallis arvensis, of temperate regions, having small red, purple, or white star-shaped flowers that close in bad weather | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
pimpernel
c.1400, from O.Fr. pimprenelle, earlier piprenelle (12c.), from M.L. pipinella "a medicinal plant," perhaps from *piperinus "pepper-like" (so called because its fruits resemble peppercorns), a derivative of L. piper "pepper" (see pepper). "The Scarlet Pimpernel" was the code
name of the hero in an adventure novel of that name published 1905.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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