heather

¹

[ heth-er ]

noun

1. any of various heaths, especially Calluna vulgaris, of England and Scotland, having small, pinkish-purple flowers.

adjective

1. (of a yarn or fabric color) subtly flecked or mottled:

   all-cotton turtlenecks in your choice of five solid colors plus heather gray and heather green.

Heather

²

[ heth-er ]

noun

1. a female given name.

heather

/ ˈhɛðə /

noun

1. Also calledlingheath a low-growing evergreen Eurasian ericaceous shrub, Calluna vulgaris, that grows in dense masses on open ground and has clusters of small bell-shaped typically pinkish-purple flowers
2. any of certain similar plants
3. a purplish-red to pinkish-purple colour

adjective

1. of a heather colour
2. of or relating to interwoven yarns of mixed colours

   heather mixture

Derived Forms

• ˈheathered, adjective
• ˈheathery, adjective

Other Words From

• heathered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of heather¹

1300–50; spelling variant of hether, earlier hedder, hadder, hather, Middle English hathir; akin to heath

Word History and Origins

Origin of heather¹

C14: originally Scottish and Northern English, probably from heath

Example Sentences

Boulter, ranked 24th in the world, is the nation's leading player, with Harriet Dart, Heather Watson and doubles specialist Olivia Nicholls completing the team in Spain.

From BBC

Adrin Nazarian claimed victory Tuesday in a race to represent parts of the San Fernando Valley on the Los Angeles City Council, while Heather Hutt held on to the seat she was appointed to in 2022.

From Los Angeles Times

In the election post-mortem with historian Heather Cox Richardson, Stewart revealed that Trump winning the popular vote was not a possibility he had considered before Tuesday night.

From Salon

As Heather "Digby" Parton wrote at Salon Wednesday, people backed Trump's "aesthetics and attitudes" but knew nothing about his policies.

From Salon

In addition to his daughter Sallie, Edwards is survived by another daughter, Heather Edwards; a brother, Bill; and a granddaughter, the outlet reported.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• drab
• dusty
• grey
• silvery