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primrose definition

prim·rose (primrōz′)

noun

  1. any of a genus (Primula) of plants of the primrose family, having variously colored, tubelike corollas with five spreading lobes
  2. the flower of any of these plants
  3. the light yellow of some primroses
  4. any of various other plants, as the evening primrose

Etymology: ME primerose < MFr, altered (infl. by rose, rose) < OFr primerole, primrose < ML primula, flower, daisy, primrose < L primus, first: see prime

adjective

  1. of the primrose
  2. light-yellow
  3. designating a family (Primulaceae, order Primulales) of dicotyledonous plants principally in the Northern Hemisphere, with flowers in clusters on a leafless stem, including loosestrife and cyclamen

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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