sun·flow·er

[suhn-flou-er]
noun
1.
any of various composite plants of the genus Helianthus, as H. annuus, having showy, yellow-rayed flower heads often 12 inches (30 cm) wide, and edible seeds that yield an oil with a wide variety of uses: the state flower of Kansas.
2.
Also called aster. Furniture. a conventionalized flower motif carved in the center panels of a Connecticut chest.

Origin:
1555–65; translation of Latin flōs sōlis flower of the sun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To sunflower
Collins
World English Dictionary
sunflower (ˈsʌnˌflaʊə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  See also Jerusalem artichoke any of several American plants of the genus Helianthus, esp H. annuus, having very tall thick stems, large flower heads with yellow rays, and seeds used as food, esp for poultry: family Asteraceae (composites)
2.  sunflower seed oil the oil extracted from sunflower seeds, used as a salad oil, in the manufacture of margarine, etc

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Sunflower is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sunflower
1562, "heliotrope;" in ref. to the helianthus (introduced to Europe 1510 from America by the Spaniards) it is attested from 1597.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Mine is the wild-type sunflower, native to the plains.
Downy mildew is a major disease in all sunflower growing regions.
About the size and shape of a sunflower nutmeat, an elm leaf beetle is a feeble
  creature in my experience, breaking at any touch.
Today, we'll run off for some morning glory and sunflower seeds.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT