Definitions
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun Old World plant with axillary racemes of blue-and-white flowers
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rolig commented on the word germander speedwell
Veronica chamaedrys
I came across this pretty blue wildflower today during my walk on Castle Hill in Ljubljana, and I had to find out its name, which, it turns out, combines two different flower names. This flower, as a member of the genus Veronica, is properly a "speedwell," although for some reason it borrows the name of the wall germander Teucrium chamaedrys; "germander" comes from a medieval Latin rendering of the Greek khaimaidrus (chamaedrys), which means "ground oak" (because the leaves resemble oak leaves).
In Slovene, this wildflower is called vredníkov jéti�?nik, which also borrows the name from the wall germander (vrednik), though the connotations of these words are different from those of the English name: vreden means "worthy" and jetika means "consumption or phthisis" (the old name for pulmonary tuberculosis); hence one might expect this humble wildflower to bring relief to worthy people suffering from consumption.
May 11, 2008
bilby commented on the word germander speedwell
'Suffering from consumption' came to mind when I saw a guy perspiring profusely while trying to stuff a plasma tv into the back of a car on Saturday :-)
Top citation, rolig.
June 16, 2008