Definitions

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

  • noun zoology Any of numerous species of butterfly in the genus Parnassius.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • When the stonecrops bloom, parnassian butterflies are on the wing.

    Kootenay Rockies - News 2010

  • And there, of course, you can expect to find photogenic parnassius caterpillars or, in season, the beginning of summer, the adult parnassian butterflies.

    Kootenay Rockies - News 2010

  • Strobeen’s parnassian butterfly, a redwood subspecies of Parnassius clodius, disappeared 33 years ago from former redwood habitats of the Santa Cruz Mountains. due to the loss of its host plant (Dicentra spp.) from fire and timber management practices.

    Northern California coastal forests 2008

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  • Of or relating to poetry. After Mount Parnassus, a mountain in Greece, considered sacred to Apollo, the Greek god of music and poetry, and the Muses. Earliest documented use: 1565.--A Word A Day

    May 21, 2013