periwinkle

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“
Near this grew a chain of the Madagascar periwinkle, the flowers of which resemble the red gilliflower; and the long-podded capsicum, the cloves of which are of the colour of blood, and more glowing than coral.

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Definitions (15)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (5)

  1. noun Any of several small, often edible marine snails, especially of the genus Littorina, having thick, cone-shaped, whorled shells.
  2. noun The shell of any of the periwinkles.
  3. noun Any of several shrubby, trailing, evergreen plants of the genus Vinca, especially V. minor, having glossy, dark green, opposite leaves and flowers with a blue, funnel-shaped corolla. Also called myrtle.
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Examples (50)

  • Dark as were his thoughts his blue eyes were as soft as the periwinkle. —  Peter Pan
  • “Forgive me, Monsieur Forlacroix, but I really think you owe it to me to answer a few questions.” The Judge turned and looked at him, with an expression of mingled surprise and reproach in his periwinkle-blue eyes, as if to say: Questions? —  Maigret in Exile - Georges Simenon - 42
  • It came with a cap sporting a stiff silly brim in front, and a cocky periwinkle-colored tuft up top. —  SON OF A WITCH
  • How can that be natural Closer to periwinkle, if you want to be precise. —  Lippman, Laura - [Tess Monaghan 03] - Butchers Hill
  • Jeans with elaborate detailing on the pockets, shirts in colors such as periwinkle, heather, golden pear and hollyberry, T-shirts, crews and polos in soft pima cotton, and a good pair of loafers, says Tom Purdy, men's manager for Dillard's. —  IdahoStatesman.com News Updates
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Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (2)

  1. Middle English *periwinkle, probably alteration (influenced by pervinkle, periwinkle (plant)) of Old English pīnewincle : Latin pīna, mussel (from Greek pīnē) + Old English -wincel, snail shell.
  2. Middle English pervinkle, diminutive of pervinke, from Old English pervince, from Latin (vinca) pervinca, from pervincīre, to wind about.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. Formerly also perwinkle, perwincle; from Middle English perwynke, parwynke, pervynke, pervenke, parvenke, from Anglo-Saxon pervincæ, pervince, late Anglo-Saxon pervenke = French pervenche = Spanish Portuguese Italian pervinca, from Latin pervinca, earlier vinca pervinca, also written as one word vincapervinca, Middle Latin also pervenca, a plant. periwinkle; a peculiarly formed name, apparently from vinca, a twist (from vincire, bind), + per, through, + vinca, a twist.
  2. Early modern English also periwincle, periwynkle, periwinkil, periwinke, perewincle; no Middle English form found; commonly referred to Anglo-Saxon *pinewincle or *pinewincla, found only in plural pinewinclan, in the Middle Latin glosses, “torniculi, pinewinclan,” sea-snails (Wright's Voc., ed. Wülcker, 94, 14), “chelio, testudo, uel marina gugalia, sǣsnǣl [‘sea-snail’] uel pinewinclan” (id., 122, 23); but according to the entry in Bosworth (ed. Toller), pinewinclan is here an error for winewinclan (due to the frequent confusion of the Anglo-Saxon p and w, which are very much alike in the manuscripts); the first element in pinewinclan or winewinclan is uncertain; the second, wincle, appears as English winkle: see winkle. Wedgwood, referring to the equivalent dial. name pennywinkle and pinpatch, explains periwinkle or the supposed Anglo-Saxon pinewincle as “pinwinkle, or winkle that is eaten by help of a pin used in pulling it out of the shell.” For this there is no evidence. The form seems to be corrupt. Cf. periwinkle, periwig.
 

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/ˈpɛrɪwɪŋkl/
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