celandine

American  

[sel-uhn-dahyn, -deen] / ˈsɛl ənˌdaɪn, -ˌdin /

noun

1. Also called greater celandine,.  Also called swallowwort.  an Old World plant, Chelidonium majus, of the poppy family, having yellow flowers.

2. Also called lesser celandine.  an Old World plant, Ranunculus ficaria, of the buttercup family, having fleshy, heart-shaped leaves and solitary yellow flowers.

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celandine British  

/ ˈsɛlənˌdaɪn /

noun

1. either of two unrelated plants, Chelidonium majus (greater celandine) or Ranunculus ficaria (lesser celandine) See greater celandine lesser celandine

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Etymology

Origin of celandine

1275–1325; Middle English selandyne, variant of celydon < Latin chelīdonia greater celandine, chelīdonium lesser celandine < Greek chelīdónion, derivative of chelīdṓn swallow; said to be so called because it blooms when the swallows return in spring

Example Sentences

Five or six spring-times, welcomed joyously, lovingly watched from the first celandine to the budding of the rose; who shall dare to call it a stinted boon?

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

Wood sorrel, dog violet and celandine were already in flower beneath the twisted branches of mature oak and birch, thickly draped in mosses, ferns and epiphytic plants.

From New York Times • Jun. 27, 2023

Instead, we see a plague of English ivy, winter creeper, vinca, honeysuckle vine, lesser celandine and multiflora rose.

From Washington Post • Mar. 24, 2022

THE scene of the crime, Riverside Park at the foot of West 115th Street, is in full spring bloom, carpeted in the butter-colored flowers of lesser celandine.

From New York Times • Apr. 5, 2012

Our way led up a steep lane, the sloping banks of which were spangled with primroses and celandine, while the rough-built walls at the top gave a hold to trailing honeysuckle, ivy, and hazel bushes.

From The Fortunes of Philippa A School Story by Brazil, Angela