pas·sion·flow·er
or passion flower (păsh′ən-flou′ər)n.
Any of various chiefly tropical tendril-bearing vines of the genus Passiflora, having large showy flowers with a fringelike crown and a conspicuous stalk bearing the stamens and pistil.
[So called because various parts were thought to recall the Passion—the filamentous corona being likened to the crown of thorns, the five anthers to the five wounds inflicted on Jesus, and the three bulbous stigmata of the pistils to the three nails used in the Crucifixion, for example .]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
passionflower
(ˈpæʃənˌflaʊə)n
(Plants) any passifloraceous plant of the tropical American genus Passiflora, cultivated for their red, yellow, greenish, or purple showy flowers: some species have edible fruit. See also granadilla
[C17: so called from the alleged resemblance between parts of the flower and the instruments of Christ's crucifixion]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
pas•sion•flow•er
(ˈpæʃ ənˌflaʊ ər)n.
any of numerous American climbing vines or shrubs of the genus Passiflora, having showy flowers and a pulpy berry or fruit that is edible in some species.
[1605–15; translation of New Latin flōs passiōnis; so named because the parts of the flower were imagined as symbolic of Christ's Passion]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
| Noun | 1. |  passionflower - any of various chiefly tropical American vines some bearing edible fruitpassion fruit - egg-shaped tropical fruit of certain passionflower vines; used for sherbets and confectionery and drinks genus Passiflora, Passiflora - type genus of the Passifloraceae Passiflora edulis, purple granadillo, granadilla - Brazilian passionflower cultivated for its deep purple fruit giant granadilla, granadilla, Passiflora quadrangularis - tropical American passionflower yielding the large granadilla fruit maypop, Passiflora incarnata - of southern United States; having an insipid berry the size of a hen egg Jamaica honeysuckle, Passiflora laurifolia, yellow granadilla - West Indian passionflower; cultivated for its yellow edible fruit banana passion fruit, Passiflora mollissima - cultivated for fruit Passiflora maliformis, sweet calabash - West Indian passionflower with edible apple-sized fruit love-in-a-mist, Passiflora foetida, running pop, wild water lemon - tropical American passion flower with finely dissected bracts; stems malodorous when crushed vine - a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface |
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