pipsissewa
noun
Forms pipsissewas
- noun Any of several evergreen plants, of the genus Chimaphila of prince's pines
- noun in particular, umbellate wintergreen (Chimaphila umbellata).
Synonyms
Etymology
Perhaps from Cree [script needed] (pipsissewa, “breaks (stones in the body) into small pieces”) (compare ᐲᐏᓷᐤ (piiwiswew, “he or she cuts pieces off someone”)), or perhaps from Abenaki [Term?] (kpipskwáhsawe, “flower of the woods”).
Webster’s 1913
- noun A low evergreen plant (Chimaphila umbellata), with narrow, wedge-lanceolate leaves, and an umbel of pretty nodding fragrant blossoms. It has been used in nephritic diseases. Called also prince's pine.
Etymology [From American Indian.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “pipsissewa”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details