tansy
NounOpen English WordNet
Noun (1)
- common perennial aromatic herb native to Eurasia having buttonlike yellow flower heads and bitter-tasting pinnate leaves sometimes used medicinallySynonyms: golden buttonsscented fernTanacetum vulgareType of composite, composite plantMember of Tanacetum, genus Tanacetum
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: OE. tansaye, F. tanaise; cf. It. & Sp. tanaceto, NL. tanacetum, Pg. atanasia, athanasia, Gr. ἀθανασία immortality, fr. ἀθάνατος immortal; ἀ priv. + θάνατος death.
1. Botany Any plant of the composite genus Tanacetum. The common tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) has finely divided leaves, a strong aromatic odor, and a very bitter taste. It is used for medicinal and culinary purposes.
2. A dish common in the seventeenth century, made of eggs, sugar, rose water, cream, and the juice of herbs, baked with butter in a shallow dish. obsolete Pepys.
Double tansy Botany, a variety of the common tansy with the leaves more dissected than usual. — Tansy mustard Botany, a plant (Sisymbrium canescens) of the Mustard family, with tansylike leaves.
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54