Columbine
/ˈkɒl.əm.baɪn/noun
A plant of the genus Aquilegia, especially one with distinctive spurred flowers; also a stock character in Italian comedy.
Did you know?The flower’s name comes from Latin *columbina* meaning “of a dove,” because its petals were imagined to resemble a cluster of doves, while the theatrical Columbine likely took her name from the same source.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Latin
Latin
columba
“dove”
Late Latin
Latin
columbīnus / columbīna
“of a dove; dove-like”
Middle French
Old French
colombine
“dove-like; relating to the columbine flower”
16th Century
English
columbine
“the columbine flower; later, a female comic character in Italian theater”
Modern English
English
columbine
“a flowering plant of the genus Aquilegia; also a stock theatrical character”
Explore more surprising origins