pimpernel

[ pim-per-nel, -nl ]

noun

1. a plant belonging to the genus Anagallis, of the primrose family, especially A. arvensis scarlet pimpernel, having scarlet or white flowers that close at the approach of bad weather.

pimpernel

/ -nəl; ˈpɪmpəˌnɛl /

noun

1. any of several plants of the primulaceous genus Anagallis, such as the scarlet pimpernel, typically having small star-shaped flowers
2. any of several similar and related plants, such as Lysimachia nemorum ( yellow pimpernel )

Word History and Origins

Origin of pimpernel¹

1400–50; late Middle English pympernele < Middle French pimprenelle, nasalized variant of Old French piprenelle < Late Latin *piperīnella, equivalent to piper pepper + -īn- -ine ¹ + -ella diminutive suffix; replacing Old English pipeneale < Late Latin pipīnella, syncopated variant of *piperīnella

Word History and Origins

Origin of pimpernel¹

C15: from Old French pimpernelle, ultimately from Latin piper pepper ; compare Old English pipeneale

Example Sentences

His inspiration for the contrasting voices, he said, came from the 1930s film “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” about a foppish-seeming English aristocrat who leads a secret life as a dashing hero rescuing victims of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror.

From Washington Post

His inspiration for the contrasting voices, he said, came from the 1930s film, “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” about an English aristocrat who leads a double life.

From Washington Times

His inspiration for the contrasting voices, he said, came from the 1930s film, “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” about an English aristocrat who leads a double life.

From Seattle Times

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, Conroy said he had got his inspiration for the voice of Batman from the 1930s film The Scarlet Pimpernel.

From BBC

They snapped photographs of each other, played card games, knit or did needlework, and listened as Nicholas read aloud from The Three Musketeers or The Scarlet Pimpernel.

From Literature