Main Entry: ado·nis

Pronunciation: \ə-ˈdän-əs, -ˈdō-nəs\

Function: noun

1 capitalized : a small genus of herbs of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae) having alternate finely dissected leaves and solitary red or yellow flowers
2 : the herbage of a plant of the genus Adonis (A. vernalis) formerly used like digitalis to treat dropsy

Adonis, Greek mythological character. Adonis was a beautiful youth much loved by the goddess Aphrodite. While hunting he was attacked and killed by a wild boar. The grieving Aphrodite caused a red-flowered plant to spring forth from his shed blood. Linnaeus named the genus Adonis after the mythological character.