lupine

1
[ loo-pin ]
See synonyms for lupine on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. any of numerous plants belonging to the genus Lupinus, of the legume family, as L. albus(white lupine ), of Europe, bearing edible seeds, or L. perennis, of the eastern U.S., having tall, dense clusters of blue, pink, or white flowers.

Origin of lupine

1
1350–1400; Middle English <Latin lupīnus, lupīnum, apparently noun use of lupīnuslupine2; compare German wolfsbohne lupine, literally, wolf bean

Words Nearby lupine

Other definitions for lupine (2 of 2)

lupine2
[ loo-pahyn ]

adjective
  1. pertaining to or resembling the wolf.

  2. related to the wolf.

  1. savage; ravenous; predatory.

Origin of lupine

2
1650–60; <Latin lupīnus of a wolf, equivalent to lup(us) wolf + -īnus-ine1

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lupine in a sentence

  • Like these creatures, it was canine in shape—lupine we should rather say—but of an exceedingly grotesque and ungainly figure.

    The Boy Slaves | Mayne Reid
  • There was something furtive and lupine about him that suggested the wild beast stalking its kill.

    Brand Blotters | William MacLeod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for lupine

lupine

/ (ˈluːpaɪn) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or resembling a wolf

Origin of lupine

1
C17: from Latin lupīnus, from lupus wolf

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for lupine

lupine

[ lōōpīn′ ]


  1. Characteristic of or resembling wolves.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.