Link Centre Dictionary

snapdragon

snapd·ra·gon

US/ˈsnæpdɹæɡən/ uncommon

noun

1.

a garden plant of the genus Antirrhinum having showy white or yellow or crimson flowers resembling the face of a dragon

Origin

(1570s) From snap + dragon, from a fancied resemblance, especially by playing children that the flower is a dragon that opens its "mouth" when squeezed on the sides. Compare for this sense the etymology of Dutch leeuwenbek (“snapdragon”, literally “lion's mouth”) and German Löwenmaul. An ancient name was Old English hundeshéafod (literally “dog's head”). For the parlour game sense, the 1704 Swift quotation is apparently the earliest appearance in print. Other animal-based names for the flower are common; compare Greek σκυλάκι (skyláki, literally “puppy”) and Finnish leijonankita (literally “lion's mouth”).

Phrases

  • common snapdragon
  • Mediterranean snapdragon
  • snapdragon double
  • summer snapdragon

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Broader terms

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Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.