pe|o|ny

pe|o|ny «PEE uh nee», noun, plural -nies.

1. a garden plant with large, showy flowers of various shades of red and white, often becoming double under cultivation. There are several kinds, comprising a genus of the crowfoot family. Peonies are perennials.

2. its flower. Also, paeony.

╂[< Old French peoine, learned borrowing from Latin paeōnia < Greek paiōníā < Pai physician of the gods (supposedly because of its use in medicine)]