trefoiln.adj.
/ˈtrɛfɔɪl/, /ˈtriːfɔɪl/, /trᵻˈfɔɪl/, U.S. /ˈtriˌfɔɪl/, /ˈtrɛˌfɔɪl/ 1. † b. gen. Any plant with trifoliate leaves, as wood sorrel. Obsolete. rare.
a. A plant of the genus Trifolium, having triple or trifoliate leaves; a clover: commonly applied to species or varieties other (esp. smaller) than those cultivated under the name of ‘clover’; often to the yellow-flowered T. minus, and also to the similar Medicago lupulina.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > clover or trefoil
white clovereOE
cloverc1000
hare-foota1300
clerewort?a1400
clover-grassa1400
three-leaved grass14..
trefoilc1400
sucklingc1440
four-leaved grassc1450
trefle1510
Trifolium?1541
trinity grass1545
Dutch1548
lote1548
hare's-foot1562
lotus1562
triple grass1562
blain-grass1570
meadow trefoil1578
purple grass1597
purplewort1597
satin flower1597
cithyse1620
true-love grass?a1629
garden balsam1633
hop-clover1679
Burgundian hay1712
strawberry trefoil1731
honeysuckle trefoil1735
red clover1764
buffalo-clover1767
marl-grass1776
purple trefoil1785
white trefoil1785
yellow trefoil1785
sulla1787
cow-grass1789
strawberry-bearing trefoil1796
zigzag trefoil1796
rabbit's foot1817
lotus grass1820
strawberry-headed trefoil1822
mountain liquorice1836
hop-trefoil1855
clustered clover1858
alsike1881
mountain clover1882
knop1897
Swedish clover1908
sub clover1920
four-leaf clover1927
suckle-
α.
β. c1400 Three Kings Cologne 92 Þe leuys be liche treyfoyles.c1440 Pallad. on Husb. i. 701 For wonte of gresse, on trefoil let hem byte.1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Trifoyle herbe, trifolium.1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 45 The best hearbe for Pasture or Meddowe, is the Trefoyle or Clauer.1601 R. Chester Loves Martyr 82 Sweete Trefoile, Weedwind, the wholesome Wormewood..Stone hearts tongue, Blessed thistle, and Sea Trifoly.1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. x. 116 The Trefoile is accounted the Husbandmans Almanack, because when it shutteth in the leaues, it foretelleth raine.1765 Museum Rusticum 4 120 Those useful grasses, the clovers and trefoils.1815 M. Elphinstone Acct. Kingdom Caubul ii. x. 297 They first soil them [horses] with trefoil, and then give them lucerne.1830 Withering's Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 7) III. 854 (note) [St. Patrick] plucking a Trefoil, and thereby illustrating the mystery of the Trinity in Unity.1830 Withering's Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 7) III. 854 Hence originated the custom of wearing the Shamrock, (a bunch of Trefoil) on the anniversary of that Saint [Patrick].γ. c1420Trayfole: [see sense 3a]. 1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 79v As safe.., as sleeping in the grasse Trifole, where..no Serpent..dare venture.1670 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) 3 The Tre-fole or Clover.a1450 Stockh. Med. MS. ii. 666 in Anglia XVIII. 323 Of trifolie ȝif þou take þe jows.
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 5 Ye lefe [of Fenegreke] is lyke vnto trifoly.
1657 S. Purchas Theatre Flying-insects i. xv. 94 Another kinde of Trifoly with long red blossomes.
1840 R. Browning Sordello iii. 2 Braid moon~fern now with mystic trifoly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > plant defined by leaves > [noun] > plant characterized specific type leaves
trefoilc1425
microphyll1915
c1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 68 Panis cuculi alleluya, i. wodsour, is a treyfole growyng vnder buschez..a ful sour herbe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > [noun] > rosette arrangement > of specific number of leaves
quatrefoil?1440
trefoilc1440
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 623 To make hem [mustard and colewort] hoor as frost..Let grounden glas go syfte on hem aboute, When theyr trefoyl or quaterfoyl is owte.
3.
a. An ornamental figure representing or resembling a trifoliate leaf; spec. in Architecture an ornament with an opening divided by cusps so as to present or suggest the figure of a three-lobed leaf. (Cf. cinquefoil n. and adj., quatrefoil adj. and n.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > three > condition of being threefold > [noun] > threefold arrangement
trefoil1418
trefle1877
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun] > foils
cinquefoil1424
quinquefoil1445
trefoil1548
hexafoil1862
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > ornamentation by foils > specific number of foils
sexfoil1688
quatrefoil1805
cinquefoil1816
septfoil1819
trefoil head1825
multifoil1835
polyfoil1842
septemfoil1842
trefoil1842
sixfoil1849
four-foil1860
octofoil1867
1418 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 36 Wroght wit mapil leues and fret of .iij.foill.
c1420 Anturs of Arth. 510 (Thornton) Trayfolede with trayfoles, and trewluffes by-twene.
1536 Reg. Riches in Antiq. Sarisb. (1771) 198 Four Basons,..with Trifoils within pounced and chased in the midst with a Falcon of Gold.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccvij A cote of greate riches, in braides of golde laied lose on Russet Veluet and set with Traifoyles, full of pearle and stone.
1551 J. Williams Acct. Monastic Treasures (1836) 76 Another paier of candelstickes chased withe trayfoldes.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 1047 Trefoil, in Gothic architecture, an ornament consisting of three cusps in a circle.
1863 G. G. Scott Gleanings Westm. Abbey (ed. 2) 38 The tracery is not only in circles, but in quatrefoils and trefoils.
b. Heraldry. A bearing conventionally representing a clover-leaf with its stalk; resembling a small cross with rounded leaves or lobes in place of the three upper arms.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > representations of vegetation > [noun] > leaf > trefoil
trefoil1562
1562 G. Legh Accedens of Armory 172 b He bearethe Or, a Treffoyle, doble, slepped vert.
1622 H. Peacham Compl. Gentleman xiii. 176 Hee beareth argent: a Cheueron azure between three Treyfoiles vert. The Treyfoile is the Herald of the Spring, & the first grasse that appeareth, hereupon it was the Embleme of Hope.
c1828 W. Berry Encycl. Her. I. Gloss. Trefoil, or Three-leaved Grass. This bearing often occurs in coat-armour.
c. Anatomy. The triangular front of a molar tooth.
ΚΠ
1904 Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. June 409 The tooth is very large,..high, and complicated, the anterior trefoil well developed.
4. figurative. A set of three closely united.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > three > group of three > [noun]
leashc1330
ternarya1464
trinity1542
three?1544
triad1546
trine1554
triplicity1585
ternion1587
pair royal1592
trinary1596
trias1610
gleek1615
triangle1621
triple1653
triumvirate1655
prial1776
trio1777
trefoil1826
trinomy1838
Pip, Squeak, and Wilfred1937
1826 W. Scott Malachi Malagrowther i. 48 One leaf of the holy Trefoil—one distinct and component part of the United Kingdoms.
1827 T. Carlyle tr. J. W. von Goethe Wilhelm Meister's Trav. in German Romance IV. 47 Among the children..Wilhelm noticed Felix; the other two were the Angels of last night. The friendly trefoil came running towards him.
5. as adj. Three-leaved; consisting of three leaflets or lobes; having the figure of a trefoil or clover leaf; furnished with such figures.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > leaf > plant defined by leaves > [adjective] > having many or particular number of leaves
cinquefoilc1420
quatrefoil?1440
five-leaved1658
two-leaved1688
septifolious1721
tetraphyllous1731
trefoil1752
biphyllous1756
triphyllous1760
polyphyllous1785
decaphyllous1793
four-leaved1793
bifoliate1836
trefoiled1854
decemfoliate1858
polyphylline1872
trefoliated1900
decemjugate-
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [adjective] > foiled
cinquefoil1752
trefoil1752
quatrefoil1776
trefoiled1815
cinquefoiled1823
quatrefoiled1834
foiled1835
foliating1835
quatrefoliated1835
trefoliated1835
foliated1838
septfoil1844
sexfoil1846
sexfoiled1846
multifoil1849
trifoliated1850
multifoiled1851
trefoil-headed1861
1752 H. Walpole Lett. (1845) II. 440 A beautiful tomb, all in our trefoil taste.
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xxv. 354 They are ternate, trefoil or three-lobed.
1849 J. H. Parker Introd. Study Gothic Archit. iii. 143 Small trefoil arches..between the corbels.
Compounds
C1. With defining words, applied to particular species of Trifolium, or to plants of other genera having triple leaves, or otherwise resembling trefoil.See also bean-trefoil n., heart trefoil n. at heart n., int., and adv. Compounds 3b, marsh trefoil n. at marsh n.1 Compounds 3c, melilot trefoil n. at melilot n. Compounds 2, milk trefoil n. at milk n.1 and adj. Compounds 3b, moon trefoil n. at moon n.1 Compounds 2, snail-trefoil n. at snail n.1 Compounds 2, tick-trefoil n. at tick n.1 Compounds 2, tree-trefoil n.† sea trefoil n. (also sea trifoly) Obsolete a name given by Turner to Astragalus Glaux.† sour trefoil n. Obsolete an old name for wood sorrel.
bird's-foot trefoil n. a book-name for Lotus corniculatus and other species.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > lotus or bird's-foot trefoil
lote1548
ground honeysuckle1592
bird's-foot trefoil1650
bird's-foot lote1714
lotus1731
winged pea1739
bird's-foot trefoil1760
bloom-fell1799
fingers and thumbs1815
bird's-foot lotus1832
devil's claw1833
five-finger1845
lady's slipper1852
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 330 Bird's foot Trefoil, Lotus.
1833 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 1 29 Lotus decumbens, Spreading Bird's-foot Trefoil.
bitumen trefoil n. (also bituminous trefoil) Psoralea bituminosa, a Southern European evergreen shrub.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > of the Mediterranean or Southern Europe > silver-bush
alatern1607
barren privet1611
evergreen privet1629
bitumen trefoil1658
1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in Topsell's Hist. Four-footed Beasts (rev. ed.) 1063 Take seed of bituminous Trifoly.
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants Psoralea bituminosa, Bitumen Trefoil.
bog trefoil n. Menyanthes trifoliata.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > aquatic, marsh, and sea-shore plants > [noun] > buckbean
buck-bean1578
marsh clover1597
marsh trefoil1597
water trefoil1597
bog bean1785
threefold1788
water trefoil1860
bog hop1866
bog trefoil1884
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants Menyanthes trifoliata,..Bog-Trefoil,..Marsh Trefoil, Water Trefoil.
hare's-foot trefoil n. Trifolium arvense.
ΚΠ
1843 C. C. Babington Man. Brit. Bot. 73 T[rifolium] arvense..Hare's-foot Trefoil.
honeysuckle trefoil n. a former name for the white and red clovers ( Trifolium repens and T. pratense).
ΚΠ
1763 Museum Rusticum (1764) 1 27 The sweet white-flowered, or honeysuckle, trefoil.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 652 Purple Trefoil, Honeysuckle Trefoil, Cow Clover.
hop trefoil n. see hop n.1 Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 41 The Yellow Hop Trefoil.
1855 Loudon's Encycl. Plants (new ed.) 648 Hop-trefoil..is cultivated along with the perennial clover.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 1170/1 The Procumbent or Hop Trefoil of the botanist..must not be confounded with the Hop Trefoil of the farmer, which is the Medicago lupulina.
meadow trefoil n. T. pratense, also the wild T. medium.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > clover or trefoil
white clovereOE
cloverc1000
hare-foota1300
clerewort?a1400
clover-grassa1400
three-leaved grass14..
trefoilc1400
sucklingc1440
four-leaved grassc1450
trefle1510
Trifolium?1541
trinity grass1545
Dutch1548
lote1548
hare's-foot1562
lotus1562
triple grass1562
blain-grass1570
meadow trefoil1578
purple grass1597
purplewort1597
satin flower1597
cithyse1620
true-love grass?a1629
garden balsam1633
hop-clover1679
Burgundian hay1712
strawberry trefoil1731
honeysuckle trefoil1735
red clover1764
buffalo-clover1767
marl-grass1776
purple trefoil1785
white trefoil1785
yellow trefoil1785
sulla1787
cow-grass1789
strawberry-bearing trefoil1796
zigzag trefoil1796
rabbit's foot1817
lotus grass1820
strawberry-headed trefoil1822
mountain liquorice1836
hop-trefoil1855
clustered clover1858
alsike1881
mountain clover1882
knop1897
Swedish clover1908
sub clover1920
four-leaf clover1927
suckle-
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. xxxvi. 495 Medow Trefoyle, or Common Trefoyle.
purple trefoil n. = meadow trefoil n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > clover or trefoil
white clovereOE
cloverc1000
hare-foota1300
clerewort?a1400
clover-grassa1400
three-leaved grass14..
trefoilc1400
sucklingc1440
four-leaved grassc1450
trefle1510
Trifolium?1541
trinity grass1545
Dutch1548
lote1548
hare's-foot1562
lotus1562
triple grass1562
blain-grass1570
meadow trefoil1578
purple grass1597
purplewort1597
satin flower1597
cithyse1620
true-love grass?a1629
garden balsam1633
hop-clover1679
Burgundian hay1712
strawberry trefoil1731
honeysuckle trefoil1735
red clover1764
buffalo-clover1767
marl-grass1776
purple trefoil1785
white trefoil1785
yellow trefoil1785
sulla1787
cow-grass1789
strawberry-bearing trefoil1796
zigzag trefoil1796
rabbit's foot1817
lotus grass1820
strawberry-headed trefoil1822
mountain liquorice1836
hop-trefoil1855
clustered clover1858
alsike1881
mountain clover1882
knop1897
Swedish clover1908
sub clover1920
four-leaf clover1927
suckle-
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xxv. 370 Purple Trefoil, Honeysuckle Trefoil, or Red Clover has the flowers growing in..spikes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > milk-vetch
astragalus1548
sea trefoil1548
sea trifoly1548
milk-vetch1597
liquorice vetch1640
prairie pea1848
sweet milk-vetch1860
buffalo-bean1906
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. D.iiij Glaux..may be called in englishe sea Trifoly.
shrub trefoil n. the same as tree-trefoil n.; formerly also identified with Cytisus, and by some applied to Yellow Jasmine; also to the Shrubby Trefoil of North America.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > medicinal trees or shrubs > [noun] > tree-trefoil
tree-trefoil1552
pretiefollie1591
milk trefoil1597
shrub trefoil1597
tetrifolie1601
moon trefoil1659
tree medick1884
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > jasmine
jasmine1548
Indian mourner1597
jesse1597
makebate1597
sad tree1597
shrub trefoil1597
sorrowful tree1597
double pipe-tree1629
jessamy1631
mogra1662
melancholy tree1760
night jasmine1866
sampaguita1902
pikake1933
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > specific plant > tree-trefoil
tree-trefoil1552
shrub trefoil1597
tree medick1884
1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1129 Of the shrub Trefoile... Most do call it Cytisus, but we had rather name it Trifolium fruticans.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum 1466 Shrub Trefoile or the ordinary yellow Iasmine.
1771 J. R. Forster Flora Amer. Septentrionalis 6 Ptelea trifoliata. Shrub trefoil. Virginia.
shrubby trefoil n. in Gerard, apparently the same as preceding; now the North American hop-tree, Ptelea trifoliata; sometimes vaguely applied to other shrubby plants with trifoliate leaves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > yielding condiments or used in food preparation > [noun] > used to flavour beer > hop-tree
shrubby trefoil1597
hop-tree1877
1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1122 The first kinde of Cytisus or shrubbie Trefoile.
1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1129 It is called in English shrubbie Trefoile, or Makebate.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 936 P[telea] trifoliata, the Shrubby Trefoil of North America, is frequently grown in shrubberies.
1884 C. S. Sargent Rep. Forests N. Amer. 31 Hop tree. Shrubby Trefoil. Wafer Ash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Oxalidaceae (wood-sorrel and allies) > [noun]
sorrel de boysa1400
wood-soura1400
hallelujahc1425
cuckoobread1526
cuckoo's meat1526
wood sorrel1526
stubwort1541
sour trefoil1578
stobwort1597
salad sorrel1611
French sorrel1633
three-leaved grass1634
stab-wort1640
lujula1651
oxalis1706
goat's foot1787
sour grass1866
sour-sop1885
soursob1907
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iv. xliii. 503 This herbe is called..in English Wood-sorel,..Sower Trifoly.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 430 Oxalis Acetosella..Wood Sorrel..Sour Trefoil.
strawberry-bearing trefoil n. (also strawberry-headed trefoil) the strawberry clover, Trifolium fragiferum.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > clover or trefoil
white clovereOE
cloverc1000
hare-foota1300
clerewort?a1400
clover-grassa1400
three-leaved grass14..
trefoilc1400
sucklingc1440
four-leaved grassc1450
trefle1510
Trifolium?1541
trinity grass1545
Dutch1548
lote1548
hare's-foot1562
lotus1562
triple grass1562
blain-grass1570
meadow trefoil1578
purple grass1597
purplewort1597
satin flower1597
cithyse1620
true-love grass?a1629
garden balsam1633
hop-clover1679
Burgundian hay1712
strawberry trefoil1731
honeysuckle trefoil1735
red clover1764
buffalo-clover1767
marl-grass1776
purple trefoil1785
white trefoil1785
yellow trefoil1785
sulla1787
cow-grass1789
strawberry-bearing trefoil1796
zigzag trefoil1796
rabbit's foot1817
lotus grass1820
strawberry-headed trefoil1822
mountain liquorice1836
hop-trefoil1855
clustered clover1858
alsike1881
mountain clover1882
knop1897
Swedish clover1908
sub clover1920
four-leaf clover1927
suckle-
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) I. 10 One species..bears..it's seeds aggregated into the form of a strawberry, from which it derives the botanic name of trifolium fragiferum, the strawberry-bearing trefoil.
sweet trefoil n. see quot. 1884
ΚΠ
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants , Melilotus cœrulea Sweet Trefoil.
thorny trefoil n. a thorny shrub of the genus Fagonia, esp. F. cretica.
ΚΠ
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 330 Thorny Trefoil, of Candia, Fagonia.
water trefoil n. Menyanthes trifoliata.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > aquatic, marsh, and sea-shore plants > [noun] > buckbean
buck-bean1578
marsh clover1597
marsh trefoil1597
water trefoil1597
bog bean1785
threefold1788
water trefoil1860
bog hop1866
bog trefoil1884
1860 R. G. Mayne Expos. Lexicon Med. Sci. Marsh Trefoil, Water Trefoil, common names for the Menyanthes trifoliata, or buckbean.
white trefoil n. white or Dutch clover.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > clover or trefoil
white clovereOE
cloverc1000
hare-foota1300
clerewort?a1400
clover-grassa1400
three-leaved grass14..
trefoilc1400
sucklingc1440
four-leaved grassc1450
trefle1510
Trifolium?1541
trinity grass1545
Dutch1548
lote1548
hare's-foot1562
lotus1562
triple grass1562
blain-grass1570
meadow trefoil1578
purple grass1597
purplewort1597
satin flower1597
cithyse1620
true-love grass?a1629
garden balsam1633
hop-clover1679
Burgundian hay1712
strawberry trefoil1731
honeysuckle trefoil1735
red clover1764
buffalo-clover1767
marl-grass1776
purple trefoil1785
white trefoil1785
yellow trefoil1785
sulla1787
cow-grass1789
strawberry-bearing trefoil1796
zigzag trefoil1796
rabbit's foot1817
lotus grass1820
strawberry-headed trefoil1822
mountain liquorice1836
hop-trefoil1855
clustered clover1858
alsike1881
mountain clover1882
knop1897
Swedish clover1908
sub clover1920
four-leaf clover1927
suckle-
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xxv. 370 White Trefoil, commonly called Dutch clover, has a creeping perennial stem.
yellow trefoil n. any yellow-flowered species of Trifolium, as T. procumbens; also Medicago lupulina.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > clover or trefoil
white clovereOE
cloverc1000
hare-foota1300
clerewort?a1400
clover-grassa1400
three-leaved grass14..
trefoilc1400
sucklingc1440
four-leaved grassc1450
trefle1510
Trifolium?1541
trinity grass1545
Dutch1548
lote1548
hare's-foot1562
lotus1562
triple grass1562
blain-grass1570
meadow trefoil1578
purple grass1597
purplewort1597
satin flower1597
cithyse1620
true-love grass?a1629
garden balsam1633
hop-clover1679
Burgundian hay1712
strawberry trefoil1731
honeysuckle trefoil1735
red clover1764
buffalo-clover1767
marl-grass1776
purple trefoil1785
white trefoil1785
yellow trefoil1785
sulla1787
cow-grass1789
strawberry-bearing trefoil1796
zigzag trefoil1796
rabbit's foot1817
lotus grass1820
strawberry-headed trefoil1822
mountain liquorice1836
hop-trefoil1855
clustered clover1858
alsike1881
mountain clover1882
knop1897
Swedish clover1908
sub clover1920
four-leaf clover1927
suckle-
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xxv. 370 White Trefoil, commonly called Dutch clover, has a creeping perennial stem... The Yellow Trefoil, cultivated under this name, or that of Nonesuch, is of another genus.
1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 191 Some from amidst the daisies gleaned The yellow trefoil.
zigzag trefoil n. Trifolium medium.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > leguminous plants > [noun] > clover or trefoil
white clovereOE
cloverc1000
hare-foota1300
clerewort?a1400
clover-grassa1400
three-leaved grass14..
trefoilc1400
sucklingc1440
four-leaved grassc1450
trefle1510
Trifolium?1541
trinity grass1545
Dutch1548
lote1548
hare's-foot1562
lotus1562
triple grass1562
blain-grass1570
meadow trefoil1578
purple grass1597
purplewort1597
satin flower1597
cithyse1620
true-love grass?a1629
garden balsam1633
hop-clover1679
Burgundian hay1712
strawberry trefoil1731
honeysuckle trefoil1735
red clover1764
buffalo-clover1767
marl-grass1776
purple trefoil1785
white trefoil1785
yellow trefoil1785
sulla1787
cow-grass1789
strawberry-bearing trefoil1796
zigzag trefoil1796
rabbit's foot1817
lotus grass1820
strawberry-headed trefoil1822
mountain liquorice1836
hop-trefoil1855
clustered clover1858
alsike1881
mountain clover1882
knop1897
Swedish clover1908
sub clover1920
four-leaf clover1927
suckle-
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 651 Zigzag Trefoil,..Tr. medium.
1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 211/1 [T. medium] can be recognised by its zigzag stem, from which..it is sometimes called Zigzag Trefoil.
C2.
a. General attributive.
(a)
trefoil head n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > ornamentation by foils > specific number of foils
sexfoil1688
quatrefoil1805
cinquefoil1816
septfoil1819
trefoil head1825
multifoil1835
polyfoil1842
septemfoil1842
trefoil1842
sixfoil1849
four-foil1860
octofoil1867
1825 H. Owen & J. B. Blakeway Hist. Shrewsbury II. 88 Six narrow pointed arches,..decorated with trefoil heads.
trefoil juice n.
ΚΠ
1619 A. Gorges tr. F. Bacon Wisedome Ancients 30 The Goate..doth greedily aspire To haue the trifol iuyce passe downe her throate.
trefoil leaf n.
ΚΠ
1758 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 504 The receipt for tooth-ache is, ‘Little trefoil leaves, primrose leaves and yarrow pounded’.
trefoil seed n.
ΚΠ
1765 Museum Rusticum 4 79 Trefoil-seed, 2 d. per pound.
(b)
trefoil-headed adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [adjective] > foiled
cinquefoil1752
trefoil1752
quatrefoil1776
trefoiled1815
cinquefoiled1823
quatrefoiled1834
foiled1835
foliating1835
quatrefoliated1835
trefoliated1835
foliated1838
septfoil1844
sexfoil1846
sexfoiled1846
multifoil1849
trifoliated1850
multifoiled1851
trefoil-headed1861
1861 J. H. Parker Introd. Study Gothic Archit. (ed. 2) iv. 115 A window of two trefoil-headed openings.
trefoil-like adj.
ΚΠ
1911 Encycl. Brit. XX. 399/2 The wood~sorrel, a small stemless plant with radical trefoil-like leaves.
trefoil-purpled adj.
ΚΠ
1782 J. Scott Elegy iii The fragrant trefoil-purpled field.
(c)
trefoil-wise adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > three > group of three > [adverb]
trefoil-wise1728
triadically1837
ternately1860
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Mistletoe Its Flowers grow by three and three, Trefoil-wise.
1889 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. Feb. 64 Groups of three globulites massed trefoilwise.
b.
trefoil burnet n. moth of which the larvæ feed on trefoil.
trefoil green n. = trefoil burnet n.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1914; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.c1400