peony

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English

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Paeonia officinalis officinalis.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old English peonie, peonia et al., from Latin paeōnia; later reinforced by Anglo-Norman peonie, Old French peone, from Latin paeōnia, from Hellenistic Ancient Greek παιωνία (paiōnía), from Ancient Greek Παιών (Paiṓn, “Paeon, the physician of the gods”)/παιών (paiṓn, “a physician”).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈpiːəni/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

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peony (plural peonies)

  1. A flowering plant of the genus Paeonia with large fragrant flowers.
    • 1653, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, Folio Society, published 2007, page 219:
      The root of the Male Peony fresh gathered has been found by experience to cure the falling-sickness.
    • 1785, William Cowper, “Book I. The Sofa.”, in The Task, a Poem, […], London: […] J[oseph] Johnson;  […], →OCLC, page 3:
      There might ye ſee the pioney ſpread vvide, / The full-blovvn roſe, the ſhepherd and his laſs, / Lap-dog and lambkin vvith black ſtaring eyes, / And parrots vvith tvvin cherries in their beak.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
      'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.
    • 1940, Rosetta E. Clarkson, Green Enchantments: The Magic Spell of Gardens, The Macmillan Company, page 258:
      Peony would keep away any kind of storms. Mugwort hung over doorways on Midsummer's Day, June 24, would keep off lightning, as St. John's-Wort would if gathered before sunrise on that day.
    • 2023 September 29, Molly Fitzpatrick, “He’s the Pawpaw King of Brooklyn. (What’s a Pawpaw?)”, in The New York Times‎[1], →ISSN:
      Mr. Farzan’s narrow backyard in Brooklyn’s South Slope neighborhood is a lush, if slightly chaotic, oasis. There are Fuji apples, Meyer lemons, figs, peonies and avocados — although that’s far from a complete census of all that grows there.
  2. A dark red colour.

Translations

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Anagrams

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