chrysanthemum
/kɹɪˈsænθəməm/
chrysanthemum means any of many flowering perennial plants, of the genus Chrysanthemum, native to China, that have showy radiate heads.
chrysanthemum is pronounced /kɹɪˈsænθəməm/.
Why “chrysanthemum” is a great word
A flowering perennial plant of the genus *Chrysanthemum*, characterized by its showy, radiate flower head. Its name derives from Latin *chrȳsanthemum*, from Ancient Greek χρῡσάνθεμον (*khrūsánthemon*), from χρῡσός (*khrūsós*, "gold") + ἄνθεμον (*ánthemon*, "flower"), first attested in English in the 1550s. Unlike "daisy," which suggests a humble, sun-flecked simplicity, or "marigold," which burns with the urgent orange of remembrance, chrysanthemum carries the weight of cultivated grandeur and autumnal solemnity. It is the crisp, architectural bloom in an Ikebana arrangement, the dense, pompon-like orb glowing in the low autumn light, and the intricate, curled petals laid with ceremony upon a grave—a golden flower whose beauty speaks of art, season, and finality, proving that splendor and decline collaborate in the same brief, burning season.
Etymology
From Latin chrȳsanthemum from Ancient Greek χρῡσάνθεμον (khrūsánthemon, “Persian buttercup”).
noun
- Any of many flowering perennial plants, of the genus Chrysanthemum, native to China, that have showy radiate heads.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Words closest in meaning
By meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.