Main Entry:

col·um·bine

Pronunciation:

\ˈkä-ləm-ˌbīn\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin columbina, from Latin, feminine of columbinus like a dove, from columba dove; akin to Old High German holuntar elder tree, Greek kolymbos a small grebe, kelainos black

Date:

14th century

: any of a genus (Aquilegia) of plants of the buttercup family with irregular showy spurred flowers: as a: a red-flowered plant (A. canadensis) of eastern North America b: a blue-flowered plant (A. caerulea) of the Rocky Mountains

[columbine illustration]