Definition of LUPIN

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Lupine comes from lupus, Latin for "wolf", and its related adjective lupinus, "wolfish". Lupine groups have a highly organized social structure, with leaders and followers clearly distinguished; dogs, since they're descended from wolves, often show these lupine patterns when living in groups. Stories of children raised by wolves (the most famous being Romulus, the legendary founder of Rome) have generally been hard to prove, partly because "wild" children lack human language abilities and can't describe their experiences. Lupine is also a noun, the name of a well-known garden flower, which was once thought to drain, or "wolf", the soil of its nutrients.

Examples of lupine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun If they were injured in the course of this lupine marauding, the wounds would appear on their human flesh. — Mark O’connell, The New Yorker, "Cartoon Saloon and the New Golden Age of Animation," 11 Dec. 2020 Only small sections of the walls that once surrounded Kilkenny remain, but the place is still recognizable as the enclosed world from which Robyn escapes in lupine form, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, slinking through the city’s iron gates. — Mark O’connell, The New Yorker, "Cartoon Saloon and the New Golden Age of Animation," 11 Dec. 2020 Around them are meadows of mule’s ears and purple lupine, sagebrush fields, and thick forests that dip to a river, then surge up the peak. — Rebecca Curtis, The New Yorker, "Hansa and Gretyl and Piece of Shit," 9 Nov. 2020 This would give time for the lupine to establish itself, further stabilizing the dunes through the summer and following winter. — Gary Kamiya, SFChronicle.com, "How sand dunes became SF’s Golden Gate Park, thanks to a clumsy horse," 18 Sep. 2020 Fields brim with lupine, silverweed, and geranium in every shade of purple and blue; songbirds trill and chirp in the trees. — Acacia Johnson, National Geographic, "For this family, keeping Alaska wild and pristine is a decades-long mission," 25 Sep. 2020 In late 1872 and early 1873, Hall and his associates carried out a trial, scattering a mixture of barley, lupine, maritime pine and albizia distachya seeds over a 100-acre area. — Gary Kamiya, SFChronicle.com, "How sand dunes became SF’s Golden Gate Park, thanks to a clumsy horse," 18 Sep. 2020 Some of her favorite plants to add to attract hummingbirds are bee balm, lupine, salvia, columbine and penstemon. — Joanne Kempinger Demski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Fall is the perfect time to put in pollinator-friendly plants, and help the environment," 3 Sep. 2020 But the brothers’ legacy undoubtedly left its mark on Roman culture—and now, archaeologists may be one step closer to unraveling a crucial chapter in the twins’ lupine tale. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian Magazine, "Archaeologists Unearth Possible Shrine to Romulus, Rome’s Legendary Founder," 21 Feb. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Its cover recalls a vintage GeoCities website: black background, underlined gold text, thumbnail-sized etching of a woman and her lupine companion. — Amanda Hess, New York Times, "The Wild Woman Awakens," 17 Dec. 2019 Every few months an Italian landowner, angry at having lost livestock to lupine jaws, will shoot a wolf and dump its corpse by the roadside – sometimes mutilated or decapitated – in protest against government policy. — Nick Squires, The Christian Science Monitor, "Where Romulus suckled, wolves roam again," 29 Sep. 2017 Lupine fix nitrogen from the air in their roots and leaves, and are helping to nourish the ground, said Josh Chenoweth, restoration botanist for the park. — Lynda V. Mapes, The Seattle Times, "At Elwha River, forests, fish and flowers where there were dams and lakes," 3 July 2017 Nimitz frequently took hikes in Tilden, particularly around the Botanic Garden and the roadway at Inspiration Point that would be named for him, and would scatter lupine seeds along the way of his weekly outings. — Chris Treadway, The Mercury News, "Admiral, sower of Berkeley wildflowers, made history 75 years ago," 4 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lupine.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.