periwinkle

¹ American  

[per-i-wing-kuhl] / ˈpɛr ɪˌwɪŋ kəl /

noun

1. any of various marine gastropods or sea snails, especially Littorina littorea, used for food in Europe.

2. the shell of any of these animals.

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periwinkle ² American  

[per-i-wing-kuhl] / ˈpɛr ɪˌwɪŋ kəl /

noun

1. Also called myrtle.  a trailing plant, Vinca minor, of the dogbane family, having glossy, evergreen foliage and usually blue-violet flowers.

2. any of several similar plants of the genus Vinca or Catharanthus.

3. a blue-violet color.

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periwinkle ¹ British  

/ ˈpɛrɪˌwɪŋkəl /

noun

1. Also called (US): creeping myrtle.   trailing myrtle.  any of several Eurasian apocynaceous evergreen plants of the genus Vinca, such as V. minor ( lesser periwinkle ) and V. major ( greater periwinkle ), having trailing stems and blue flowers

2. 1. a light purplish-blue colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      a periwinkle coat

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periwinkle ² British  

/ ˈpɛrɪˌwɪŋkəl /

noun

1. Often shortened to: winkle.  any of various edible marine gastropods of the genus Littorina, esp L. littorea, having a spirally coiled shell

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Other Word Forms

• periwinkled adjective

Etymology

Origin of periwinkle¹

1520–30; perhaps reflecting (through assimilation to periwinkle ² ) Old English pīnewincle, equivalent to pīne (from Latin pīna from Greek pínē, pîna, a kind of mollusk) + -wincel “shellfish” (occurring only in compounds), cognate with dialectal Danish vinkel “snail shell”

Origin of periwinkle²

before 1000; earlier pervinkle, perwinkle, alteration ( -le ) of Middle English perwinke, pervinke, from Anglo-French pervenke ( Old French pervenche ,) from Late Latin pervinca, Latin vi(n)capervi(n)ca; compare Old English peruince, Middle High German ber(e)winke from Late Latin pervinca

Related Words

• color
• lavender
• lilac
• mauve
• plum
• violet