Forsythia
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Any of several shrubs, of the genus Forsythia, native to Asia and Eastern Europe, that are cultivated for their yellow flowers, which bloom in early spring.
"They heard laughing then, and looked up to see Ann and Bell coming down the street toward them. Ann had plucked a twig of forsythia, and was trying to arrange it in her hair. "Take that off!" Bell was saying. "It's got bugs crawling on it!""
- 2 any of various early blooming oleaceous shrubs of the genus Forsythia; native to eastern Asia and southern Europe but widely cultivated for their branches of bright yellow bell-shaped flowers wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"They heard laughing then, and looked up to see Ann and Bell coming down the street toward them. Ann had plucked a twig of forsythia, and was trying to arrange it in her hair. "Take that off!" Bell was saying. "It's got bugs crawling on it!""
Etymology
From New Latin, named in honor of Scottish horticulturist William Forsyth, who brought the shrub over from China. Forsyth's own name is from Irish Fearsithe, meaning "man of peace."
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.