nasturtium
UK /nasˈtɜːʃəm/ · US /næsˈtɝʃəm/ noun
Forms nasturtiums nasturtia nasturtian nasturtion
- 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.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English nasturcium, from Old English nasturcium (“watercress”), from Latin nasturtium.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A genus of cruciferous plants, having white or yellowish flowers, including several species of cress. They are found chiefly in wet or damp grounds, and have a pungent biting taste.
- noun Any plant of the genus Tropæolum, geraniaceous herbs, having mostly climbing stems, peltate leaves, and spurred flowers, and including the common Indian cress (Tropæolum majus), the canary-bird flower (T. peregrinum), and about thirty more species, all natives of South America. The whole plant has a warm pungent flavor, and the fleshy fruits are used as a substitute for capers, while the leaves and flowers are sometimes used in salads.
Etymology [L. nasturtium, for nasitortium, fr. nasus nose + torquere, tortum, to twist, torture, in allusion to the causing one to make a wry face by its pungent taste. See Nose of the face, and Torture.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “nasturtium”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details