burnet

¹ American  

[ber-net, bur-nit] / bərˈnɛt, ˈbɜr nɪt /

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genera Sanguisorba and Poterium, of the rose family, having pinnate leaves and dense heads of small flowers.

---

Burnet ² American  

[ber-net, bur-nit] / bərˈnɛt, ˈbɜr nɪt /

noun

1. Sir (Frank) Macfarlane 1899–1985, Australian physician: Nobel Prize in Physiology 1960.

---

burnet ¹ British  

/ ˈbɜːnɪt /

noun

1. a plant of the rosaceous genus Sanguisorba (or Poterium ), such as S. minor (or P. sanguisorba ) ( salad burnet ), which has purple-tinged green flowers and leaves that are sometimes used for salads

2. a very prickly Eurasian rose, Rosa pimpinellifolia , with white flowers and purplish-black fruits

3. a Eurasian umbelliferous plant of the genus Pimpinella , having umbrella-like clusters of white or pink flowers

4. a moth of the genus Zygaena , having red-spotted dark green wings and antennae with enlarged tips: family Zygaenidae

---

Burnet ² British  

/ bəˈnɛt, ˈbɜːnɪt /

noun

1. Gilbert . 1643–1715, Scottish bishop and historian, who played a prominent role in the Glorious Revolution (1688–89); author of The History of My Own Times (2 vols: 1724 and 1734)

2. Sir ( Frank ) Macfarlane (məkˈfɑːlən). 1899–1985, Australian physician and virologist, who shared a Nobel prize for physiology or medicine in 1960 with P. B. Medawar for their work in immunology

3. Thomas . 1635–1715, English theologian who tried to reconcile science and religion in his Sacred theory of the Earth (1680–89)

---

Etymology

Origin of burnet

1225–75; Middle English < Middle French burnete, variant of brunete ( brunet ); so called from its hue

Example Sentences

Longtime customers of Mr. Bowen’s recognize some themes, like the iterations of Sanguisorba, or burnet, perennials with catkin-like inflorescences he described as “a bobble, a burr or a brush in some color.”

From New York Times • Mar. 17, 2021

When I encounter something unique, such as Cuban oregano, chervil or salad burnet, I give it a try, and if I end up using it throughout the season, it becomes one of the regulars, too.

From Washington Post • Jul. 5, 2019

Oregano and Cuban oregano grow next to each other alongside a patch of salad burnet.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2018

The reference to "the names, and the things/ No less" is, of course, evocative: we imagine farm implements, wildflowers like the "burnet rose" mentioned earlier, nicknames, the colouring of different dialects.

From The Guardian • Feb. 25, 2013

Hazel finished the last of the burnet and answered himself in the starlight.

From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams