Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Consisting of scabs; scabby; scurfy; itchy.
  • noun A plant of the genus Scabiosa; the pincushion-flower.
  • noun In America, sometimes, the daisy-fieabane, Erigeron annuus.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Consisting of scabs; rough; itchy; leprous.
  • noun (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Scabiosa, several of the species of which are common in Europe. They resemble the Compositæ, and have similar heads of flowers, but the anthers are not connected.
  • noun A daisylike plant (Erigeron annuus) having a stout branching stem.

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

  • adjective having scabs
  • adjective of or pertaining to scabies
  • noun any of various herbaceous plants of the genus Scabiosa.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of various plants of the genus Scabiosa

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word scabious.

Examples

  • The field scabious is a multipetaled blue – sometimes purple – ball of a flower.

    Animal Kingdom Capitalism | Impact Lab 2006

  • One of the species worked on this year is the devil's-bit scabious, a medicinal plant native to the UK.

    Kew unveils native flower seed bank 2011

  • There are 12 wild flower species in the ordinary playing field but in its first year the haven was home to 107 species, including scabious, white campion and bird's foot trefoil.

    Butterfly revival could be threatened by cuts, warns charity 2011

  • Wet-kneed, we walked by pastures filled with the white froth of meadowsweet and river-bank flora of lady's bedstraw, betony, devil's bit scabious, greater burnet and eyebright, kneeling several times to store memories of the scent of the last of the fragrant orchids.

    Country diary: Forest-in-Teesdale 2011

  • The thistles, knapweeds and willowherbs are truer purple, but the bluish nettle-leaved bellflowers and field scabious are also tinged with that mysterious shadow which has more to do with night than golden day.

    Country diary: Wenlock Edge 2011

  • Another species, devil's-bit scabious, has evolved to germinate only in spring after a long period of winter chilling.

    Kew unveils native flower seed bank 2011

  • As we walked through dense patches of devil's bit scabious, scores of peacock butterflies – sometimes two to a flower head – rose and fluttered around us.

    Country diary: Durham coast 2010

  • The Scotch argus butterflies were flitting over the bog myrtle, ling and devil's-bit scabious.

    Country diary: Loch Ruthven 2010

  • Some of the butterflies were seeking nectar from the purple-blue scabious flowers that lined the path.

    Country diary: Loch Ruthven 2010

  • Mauve scabious and darker purple knapweed wave their heads in the aftermath of a summer thunderstorm.

    Butterflies: out of the blue 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.