sca·bi·o·sa \ˌskābēˈōsə, ˌskab-\noun Etymology: New Latin, from Medieval Latin, scabious 1.capitalized: a large genus of Old World herbs (family Dipsacaceae) having terminal heads of flowers subtended by a leafy involucre and flowers with a 5-cleft often bilabiate corolla and four stamens 2.-s: any plant of the genus Scabiosa