Columbine

Word of the Day for Wednesday 26^th February 2014

Columbine \KOL-uhm-bahyn, -bin\, adjective:

1. dovelike; dove-coloured.
2. of a dove.

For it is not possible to join serpentine wisdom with columbine innocency, except men know exactly all the conditions of the serpent: his baseness and going upon his belly, his volubility and lubricity, his envy and sting, and the rest; that is, all forms and natures of evil …
-- Francis Bacon, The Advancement of Learning, 1605

Com forth now with thyne eyen columbyn. / How fairer been thy brestes than is wyn.
-- Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Merchant’s Tale,” The Canterbury Tales, 1387–1400

Columbine is derived from the Latin columba meaning "dove." The columbine flower was so named because of its resemblance to a cluster of doves.

Thanks to: www.dictionary.com