edelweiss

American  

[eyd-l-vahys, -wahys] / ˈeɪd lˌvaɪs, -ˌwaɪs /

noun

1. a small composite plant, Leontopodium alpinum, having white woolly leaves and flowers, growing in the high altitudes of the Alps.

2. a liqueur made in Italy, flavored with the extracts of alpine flowers.

---

edelweiss British  

/ ˈeɪdəlˌvaɪs /

noun

1. a small alpine flowering plant, Leontopodium alpinum, having white woolly oblong leaves and a tuft of attractive floral leaves surrounding the flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)

---

Etymology

Origin of edelweiss

1860–65; < German, equivalent to edel noble + weiss white

Example Sentences

The edelweiss has been replanted and, perhaps, next spring, its small white flowers will look happy to meet the next batch of tourists.

From BBC • Jul. 25, 2024

Bellotti added a Swiss touch with leather clad cowbells on bags, and edelweiss hanging by a chain in a mesh pouch.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 23, 2023

Why are one lady’s edelweiss plants — bought to remind herself of a walking holiday in the Dolomites — all “looking quite dead?”

From Washington Post • Feb. 27, 2023

In the meadow, the snow had thawed, replaced by a shag carpet of grass and edelweiss.

From Newsweek • Jul. 6, 2013

He had seen so many paintings of edelweiss, that cheerful white flower that dots the Alps each spring, that he sometimes found himself doodling pictures in the margins of his train tickets.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood