Cowslip
//ˈkaʊ.slɪp// noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A low-growing plant, Primula veris, with yellow flowers.
"Where the bee sucks, there suck I: / In a cowslip's bell I lie;"
- 2 swamp plant of Europe and North America having bright yellow flowers resembling buttercups wordnet
- 3 Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance; Primula deorum, a flowering plant known as God's cowslip and rila cowslip
- 4 early spring flower common in British isles having fragrant yellow or sometimes purple flowers wordnet
- 5 Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance; Primula florindae, a flowering plant known as giant cowslip and Tibetan cowslip
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance; Primula sikkimensis, a flowering plant known as Himalayan cowslip and Sikkim cowslip
- 7 Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance; marsh marigold, Caltha palustris, a plant in the buttercup family, growing in wet, boggy locations. Canada, US, regional
- 8 Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance; Pulmonaria angustifolia, blue cowslip or narrow-leaved lungwort
- 9 Ellipsis of cowslip tea: a kind of green tea; an herbal tea made with cowslip flowers. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
Example
More examples"Raspberries are red, blueberries blue; cut the tarragon stems, and cowslip shoots new."
Etymology
From Middle English cowslyppe, from Old English cūslyppe (“cowslip”), from cū (“cow”) + slyppe (“paste, viscid substance”), related to Old English slūpan (“to slip, glide, move softly”). Compare oxlip.
Related phrases
More for "cowslip"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.