heather

¹heath·er

noun \ˈhe-thər\

Definition of HEATHER

: heath 2a; especially : a common Eurasian heath (Calluna vulgaris) of northern and alpine regions that has small crowded sessile leaves and racemes of tiny usually purplish-pink flowers and is naturalized in the northeastern United States

Origin of HEATHER

Middle English (northern) hather

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

Rhymes with HEATHER

feather, leather, nether, tether, weather, wether, whether

²heather

adjective

Definition of HEATHER

: heathery

First Known Use of HEATHER

1615

Other Seed Plant Terms

aubergine, box, bramble, briar, composite, perpetual, pulse, trefoil

Rhymes with HEATHER

feather, leather, tether, weather, whether

heather

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Low evergreen shrub (Calluna vulgaris) of the heath family, widespread in western Europe and Asia, North America, and Greenland. It is the chief vegetation on many wastelands of northern and western Europe. C. vulgaris is distinguished from true heaths, which are sometimes loosely called heather, by the lobes of its calyx (see flower), which conceal the petals; in true heaths the petals cover the calyx. Scotch heather has purple stems, close-leaved green shoots, and feathery spikes of bell-shaped flowers. It has various economic uses: large stems are made into brooms, shorter ones are tied into bundles that serve as brushes, and long trailing shoots are woven into baskets.

Variants of HEATHER

heather or Scotch heather