nasturtium
/næsˈtɝʃəm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.84 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The popular name of any of the plants in the Tropaeolum genus of flowering plants native to south and central America.
noun
A plant in this genus, garden nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus).
noun
Any of the plants in the genus Nasturtium that includes watercress.
Example Sentences
- "To me a nasturtium by the river brink is more than a simple flower. It is a broader, grander, more magnificent, more stupendous symbol. It may mean anything, everything—such as sunsets and conflagrations and Götterdämmerungs!"
- "Drenched were the cold fuchsias, round pearls of dew lay on the flat nasturtium leaves."
Etymology
From Middle English nasturcium, from Old English nasturcium (“watercress”), from Latin nasturtium.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *terkʷ-, nasturcium, nasturtium
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /næsˈtɝʃəm/
- British English: /nasˈtɜːʃəm/