lupine

1 of 2

noun

lu·​pine ˈlü-pən 

variants or less commonly lupin

: any of a genus (Lupinus) of leguminous herbs including some poisonous forms and others cultivated for their long showy racemes of usually blue, purple, white, or yellow flowers or for green manure, fodder, or their edible seeds

also : an edible lupine seed

lupine

2 of 2

adjective

lu·​pine ˈlü-ˌpīn 

: wolfish

Did you know?

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

In years past, poppies and deep blue lupine flanked Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet. —Nathan Solisstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 3 Feb. 2023

Particular butterflies have to have lupine to lay their eggs. —Laura Collins-Hughes, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2023

But wildlife officials set to work, locating a few small remnants of sundial lupine on the grounds and taking steps to bolster lupine growth. —Travis Andersen, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2023

The monument’s dusty topography has erupted in color: yellow from the hillside daisies, goldfields and tidy tips, whose ends are frosted white; purple from the phacelia and wild hyacinth; azure splashes from the lupine and baby blue eyes. —Alice Li, Washington Post, 3 May 2023

A number of other species are benefiting from the growth of lupine and other plants in the area, including rare moths, butterflies, native bees, and reptiles such as the Eastern hognose snake and Eastern box turtle, officials said. —Travis Andersen, BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2023

In sunnier locales are Parry’s bellflower, yarrow, lupine and beardlip penstemon. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 6 July 2023

Some of these flowering plants include bee balms, columbine flowers, daylilies, lupines and petunias. —Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 10 Apr. 2023

An understory of ferns, lupines and tall grasses laps at the legs as hikers take on the gentle inclines. —Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 5 Aug. 2023

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, 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, 29 Sep. 2017

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin lupinus, lupinum, from lupinus, adjective

Adjective

Latin lupinus, from lupus wolf — more at wolf

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1660, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

lupine

noun

lu·​pine

variants also lupin

ˈlü-pən

: any of a genus of herbs of the legume family including some poisonous ones and others grown for their showy spikes of colorful flowers or for green manure, fodder, or their edible seeds

Medical Definition

lupine

noun

lu·​pine

variants also lupin

ˈlü-pən 

: any of a genus (Lupinus) of leguminous herbs some of which cause lupinosis and others are cultivated for green manure, fodder, or their edible seeds

also : an edible lupine seed