geranium
/dʒɪˈreɪnɪəm
/noun
1A herbaceous plant or small shrub of a genus that comprises the cranesbills and their relatives. Geraniums bear a long, narrow fruit that is said to be shaped like the bill of a crane.
- Genus Geranium, family Geraniaceae.
- Is there any blue half so pure, and deep, and tender, as that of the large crane's bill, the geranium pratense of the botanists?
- Other plants like the hardy geraniums proved easy to remove, with buds of new growth indicating their position and neat clumps of roots that fitted snugly into the waiting pots.
1.1(In general or informal use) a cultivated pelargonium.He filled the gutter with a mixture of weedless topsoil, finely screened compost and peat moss and planted his favorites - geraniums - in the mini planter....
- Containers are planted with geraniums and petunias in Ann's favorite colors - pink, lavender, and cerise.
- I filled it with some organic matter, planted bright red geraniums in the center and placed trailing ivy along the outer edges.
1.2 [mass noun] The scarlet colour of many cultivated pelargoniums.If she said geranium was the colour of the season, then everyone wore geranium - whether they looked good in it or not....
- She thinks navy or royal blue might be better choices than geranium for a woman updating us on conditions at the front.
Origin
Modern Latin, from Greek geranion, from geranos 'crane'.