per|i|win|kle

per|i|win|kle
per|i|win|kle1 «PEHR uh WIHNG kuhl», noun.
1. a low, trailing evergreen plant with blue, white, or purplish flowers. There are several kinds, making up a genus of the dogbane family. The American periwinkle is called myrtle.
2. a light-blue color.
╂[alteration of Middle English perwynke, Old English pervince < Latin pervinca < pervincīre fasten around < peri- around + vincīre bind; influenced by periwinkle2]
per|i|win|kle2 «PEHR uh WIHNG kuhl», noun.
1. a) a sea snail with a thick, cone-shaped, spiral shell, used for food in Europe. There are several kinds, making up a genus of mollusks. b) the shell of this snail or of certain other marine univalve mollusks.
2. any one of certain other relatively large marine snails used for food; winkle.
3. a kind of freshwater snail of the southern United States.
╂[origin uncertain. Compare Old English pīnewincle < Latin pīna mussel < Greek pē.]

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • per·i·win·kle — …   Useful english dictionary

  • periwinkle — per|i|win|kle [ˈperıwıŋkəl] n [Sense: 1; Date: 1000 1100; : Latin; Origin: pervinca] [Sense: 2; Date: 1500 1600; Origin: Perhaps from Old English pinewincle, from Latin pina type of mussel + Old English wincle shell ] 1.) a small plant with light …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • periwinkle — per|i|win|kle [ peri,wıŋkl ] noun 1. ) count a small blue or white flower a ) uncount the color of a blue periwinkle 2. ) count a small ocean creature that lives in a shell and can be eaten. Periwinkles are often simply called winkles …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • periwinkle — I per•i•win•kle [[t]ˈpɛr ɪˌwɪŋ kəl[/t]] n. ivt any of various small gastropod mollusks of the family Littorinidae, of intertidal waters • Etymology: 1520–30; perh. reflecting (through assimilation to periwinkle II) OE pīnewincle=pīne (< L pīna …   From formal English to slang

  • periwinkle — SYN: Vinca rosea. * * * per·i·win·kle per i .wiŋ kəl n any of several trailing or woody evergreen plants of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae) esp ROSY PERIWINKLE * * * peri·win·kle (perґe wing″kəl) 1. any of several woody herbs of the… …   Medical dictionary

  • Fulgur canaliculata — Periwinkle Per i*win kle, n. [From AS. pinewincla a shellfish, in which pine is fr. L. pina, pinna, a kind of mussel, akin to Gr. ?. Cf. {Winkle}.] (Zo[ o]l.) Any small marine gastropod shell of the genus Littorina. The common European species… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Fulgur carica — Periwinkle Per i*win kle, n. [From AS. pinewincla a shellfish, in which pine is fr. L. pina, pinna, a kind of mussel, akin to Gr. ?. Cf. {Winkle}.] (Zo[ o]l.) Any small marine gastropod shell of the genus Littorina. The common European species… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Littorina littorea — Periwinkle Per i*win kle, n. [From AS. pinewincla a shellfish, in which pine is fr. L. pina, pinna, a kind of mussel, akin to Gr. ?. Cf. {Winkle}.] (Zo[ o]l.) Any small marine gastropod shell of the genus Littorina. The common European species… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • myrtle — Periwinkle Per i*win kle, n. [OE. pervenke, AS. pervince, fr. L. pervinca.] (Bot.) A trailing herb of the genus {Vinca}. [1913 Webster] Note: The common perwinkle ({Vinca minor}) has opposite evergreen leaves and solitary blue or white flowers in …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Periwinkle — Per i*win kle, n. [OE. pervenke, AS. pervince, fr. L. pervinca.] (Bot.) A trailing herb of the genus {Vinca}. [1913 Webster] Note: The common perwinkle ({Vinca minor}) has opposite evergreen leaves and solitary blue or white flowers in their… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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