Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A taxonomic genus within the family Ranunculaceae — a few hundred species of annual, biennial or perennial flowering plants, including popular garden plants, such as delphinium.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Ancient Greek δελφίς (delphis, "dolphin") because of their flower shape, thought to resemble a back of a dolphin. Named by botanist Carl von Linnaeus (1707-1778).

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Examples

  • Is the "Delphinium" piece a composition related to a news photo?

    War and Peace: The Art of Rebecca Whipple and the World Beyond the Sound Bite Jeremiah McNichols 2006

  • Is the "Delphinium" piece a composition related to a news photo?

    Archive 2006-10-01 Jeremiah McNichols 2006

  •            Now Prince Sage was the second oldest child of King Delphinium and Queen Dahlia, rulers of Pasque.

    Begonia {part ten} Emily Cleigh 2010

  • Desert larkspur (Delphinium parryi) is a perennial that has woody rootstocks but also sprouts only in wetter years.

    Adaptations of desert plants 2009

  • Larkspur (Delphinium sp.), death camas (Zigadenus elegans), and wild lupine (Lupinus sp.) are found here and nowhere else in the prairies.

    Northern mixed grasslands 2008

  • The largest concentrations of endemic plant species are in the Tatras (Saxifraga wahlenbergii, Delphinium oxysepalum, Dianthus, Soldanella carpatica, Festuca tatrae, Cerastium tatrae, Dianthus praecox); other areas rich in endemic species include the high mountain ranges of the Eastern and Southern Carpathians.

    Carpathian montane conifer forests 2008

  • Common species found at these altitudes include Delphinium cashmerianum, Glechoma tibetica, Silene longicarpophora, Potentilla fruticosa, and Nepeta spp.

    Karakoram-West Tibetan Plateau alpine steppe 2008

  • Nine species classified as rare in the Slovenian Red Data Book are also present and include Aconitum anthora, Cercis siliquastrum, Delphinium fissum, Euphrasia italica, Juniperus oxycedrus, Laburnum alschingeri; Orobanche hederae is found only in the Great Valley.

    Skocjan Caves Regional Park, Slovenia 2008

  • The Athenians, who had now crossed over with their troops from Lesbos to Chios, and had the upper hand both by land and sea, began to fortify Delphinium, a place not far distant from the town of Chios, which had the double advantage of being strong by land and of possessing harbours.

    The History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides 2007

  • Lacedaemonians the necessity of coming to their assistance while there was still hope of interfering to some purpose; the fortification of Delphinium, though not yet completed, was in progress, and the Athenians were beginning to extend the lines of defence which protected their army and ships.

    The History of the Peloponnesian War Thucydides 2007

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