mayflower

American  

[mey-flou-er] / ˈmeɪˌflaʊ ər /

noun

1. any of various plants that blossom in May, such as the hepatica or anemone in the United States, and the hawthorn or cowslip in England.

2. trailing arbutus.

3. Mayflower, the ship in which the Pilgrims sailed from Southampton, England, to North America in 1620.

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Mayflower ¹ British  

/ ˈmeɪˌflaʊə /

noun

1. the ship in which the Pilgrim Fathers sailed from Plymouth to Massachusetts in 1620

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mayflower ² British  

/ ˈmeɪˌflaʊə /

noun

1. any of various plants that bloom in May

2. another name for trailing arbutus

3. another name for hawthorn cowslip marsh marigold

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Mayflower Cultural  

1. The ship that carried the Pilgrims to America. It made a permanent landing near Plymouth Rock in 1620, after the Pilgrims had agreed to the Mayflower Compact.

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Etymology

Origin of mayflower

First recorded in 1560–70; May + flower

Example Sentences

“Epigea” refers to Epigaea repens, commonly known as trailing arbutus or mayflower: a low-growing shrub that produces clusters of pink flowers.

From Slate • May 17, 2016

"Do you know," we planned to say to Mr. John Alden, "whether any mayflower, or trailing arbutus, ever used to grow in Duxbury?"

From Pilgrim Trails A Plymouth-to-Provincetown Sketchbook by Warner, Frances Lester

Stedman's poem is worthy of his theme, and is the only one I recall by any of our well-known poets upon the much-loved mayflower or arbutus.

From The Writings of John Burroughs — Volume 05: Pepacton by Burroughs, John

They went side by side, hand in hand, silently towards the hedge, where the mayflower, both pink and white, was in full bloom.

From To Let by Galsworthy, John

Epigaea repens is the trailing arbutus or mayflower of Atlantic America.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 7 "Equation" to "Ethics" by Various