cinquefoil
/ˈsɪŋkfɔɪl
/noun
1A widely distributed herbaceous plant of the rose family, with compound leaves of five leaflets and five-petalled yellow flowers.
- Genus Potentilla, family Rosaceae.
- If you have a toothache or mouth sore, you might try cinquefoil, a native plant.
- Deciduous cinquefoil has long been used for borders and ground covers in cold-climate gardens.
2 Art An ornamental design of five lobes arranged in a circle, e.g. in architectural tracery or heraldry.The cinquefoil, when inscribed in a circle, forms a rosette of five equal leaves having an open space in the middle, the leaves being formed by the open spaces.
Origin
Middle English: from Latin quinquefolium, from quinque 'five' + folium 'leaf'.