columbine
pronunciation
How to pronounce columbine in British English:
UK [ˈkɒləmbaɪn]
How to pronounce columbine in American English:
US [ˈkɑləmbaɪn]
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- Noun:
- a plant of the genus Aquilegia having irregular showy spurred flowers; north temperate regions especially mountains
Word Origin
- columbine (n.)
- c. 1300, from Old French columbine "columbine," or directly from Medieval Latin columbina, from Late Latin columbina "verbena," fem. of Latin columbinus, literally "dove-like," from columba "dove." The inverted flower supposedly resembles a cluster of five doves. Also a fem. proper name; in Italian comedy, the name of the mistress of Harlequin.
Example
- 1. Columbine was the rare exception .
- 2. This was after the columbine high school shootings in colorado .
- 3. Ever since the shootings at columbine high school , in a denver suburb , in 1999 , american schools have been preparing for gunmen .
- 4. In recent years , despite periodic spasms of attention after mass killings like those at columbine and virginia tech , gun control has made no headway at the federal level either .
- 5. In the late morning of april 20th 1999 a pair of teenagers , dylan klebold and eric harris , walked into the cafeteria at columbine high school in colorado and began gunning down their classmates .