What does "tansy" mean?
A herbaceous plant with yellow flowers, of the genus Tanacetum, especially Tanacetum vulgare.
Tansy
/ˈtæn.zi/ name, noun
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A herbaceous plant with yellow flowers, of the genus Tanacetum, especially Tanacetum vulgare.
- Grammar: tansy is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: tanacetum vulgare, color yellow, common tansy, golden buttons.
- Useful contrasts: colorless, dull.
- Usage evidence: The sunny afternoon was there, like another land. By the path grew tansy and little trees.
How to use "tansy"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tansy" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "tansy" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "tansy" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tansy" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "tansy" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "tanacetum vulgare" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "tansy", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A herbaceous plant with yellow flowers, of the genus Tanacetum, especially Tanacetum vulgare. countable, uncountable
"The sunny afternoon was there, like another land. By the path grew tansy and little trees."
- 2 common perennial aromatic herb native to Eurasia having buttonlike yellow flower heads and bitter-tasting pinnate leaves sometimes used medicinally wordnet
- 3 A dish common in the seventeenth century, made of eggs, sugar, rose water, cream, and the juice of herbs (including tansy), baked with butter in a shallow dish. "Originally flavoured with tansy, but by Pepys's time generally having spinach as its predominant flavouring." obsolete, uncountable
"I had a pretty dinner for them; viz., a brace of stewed carps, six roasted chickens, and a jowle of salmon, hot, for the first course; a tanzy and two neats' tongues, and cheese the second; and were very merry all the afternoon, talking and singing and piping upon the flageolette."
Proper Noun
- 1 A female given name from English.
"(I love romantic folksy English names like Tansy and Violet, Ralph likes Mitfordesque names like Pamela and Daphne)"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The sunny afternoon was there, like another land. By the path grew tansy and little trees."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tansy"?
Common synonyms include: tanacetum vulgare, color yellow, common tansy, golden buttons, herb, pale yellow.
How do you use "tansy" in a sentence?
The sunny afternoon was there, like another land. By the path grew tansy and little trees.
How do you pronounce "tansy"?
Pronounced /ˈtæn.zi/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Inherited from Middle English tansy, tansey, syncopic forms of earlier tanesie, tanesei, from Old French tanesie, tanoisie, tanasie, tanaisie, from Medieval Latin tanacetum, atanacetum, attested since the 8th century, of obscure origin, speculated from Ancient Greek ἀθανασία (athanasía, “immortality”) owing to hallucinations from the thujone in the plant, else from taenia (“tapeworm”) due to its primary use against parasites by which reason it is called in Arabic حَشِيشَة الدُود (ḥašīša ad-dūd, literally “worm herb”), otherwise a Berber borrowing like tagetes.
Etymology 2
From the name of the plant tansy at the end of the 19th century.