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Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. A Eurasian plant (Taraxacum officinale) of the composite family having many-rayed yellow flower heads and deeply notched basal leaves. Widely naturalized as a weed in North America, it is used in salads and to make wine.
  2. n. Any of several similar or related plants.
  3. n. A brilliant to vivid yellow.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

  1. n. A well-known plant, Taraxacum officinale, natural order Compositæ, having a naked fistulous scape with one large bright-yellow flower, and a tapering, milky, perennial root. It is found under several forms over the whole of Europe, central and northern Asia, and North America. The root has been used as a substitute for coffee. It acts as an aperient and tonic, and is esteemed in affections of the liver. The seed of the plant is furnished with a white pappus, and is transported far and wide by the wind. The flowers open in the morning between 5 and 6 o'clock, and close between 8 and 9 in the evening; hence this was one of the plants chosen by Linnæus for his floral clock.

Wiktionary

  1. n. Any of the several species of plant in the genus Taraxacum, characterised yellow flower heads and notched, broad-ended leaves, especially the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale).
  2. n. The flower head or fruiting head of the dandelion plant.
  3. n. A yellow colour, like that of the flower.
  4. adj. Of a yellow colour, like that of the flower.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. A well-known plant of the genus Taraxacum (Taraxacum officinale, formerly called Taraxacum Dens-leonis and Leontodos Taraxacum) bearing large, yellow, compound flowers, and deeply notched leaves.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. any of several herbs of the genus Taraxacum having long tap roots and deeply notched leaves and bright yellow flowers followed by fluffy seed balls

Etymologies

  1. Middle English dent-de-lioun, from Old French dentdelion, from Medieval Latin dēns leōnis, lion's tooth (from its sharply indented leaves) : Latin dēns, dent-, tooth; see dent- in Indo-European roots + Latin leōnis, genitive of leō, lion; see lion.

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‘dandelion’ has been looked up 1661 times, loved by 3 people, added to 70 lists, and has a Scrabble score of 11.