CINQUEFOIL

cinquefoil

(noun) an ornamental carving consisting of five arcs arranged in a circle

cinquefoil, five-finger

(noun) any of a numerous plants grown for their five-petaled flowers; abundant in temperate regions; alleged to have medicinal properties

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

cinquefoil (plural cinquefoils)

A potentilla (flower).

(heraldiccharge) A stylized flower or leaf with five lobes.

(topology) A particular knot of five crossings.

Synonyms

• (flower): fiveleaf

• (knot): cinquefoil knot, \(5_1\), \(T(5,2)\)

Coordinate terms

• trefoil

• quatrefoil

• sexfoil

• octofoil

Source: Wiktionary


Cinque"foil`, n. Etym: [Cinque five + foil, F. feuille leaf. See Foil.]

1. (Bot.)

Definition: The name of several different species of the genus Potentilla;

– also called five-finger, because of the resemblance of its leaves to the fingers of the hand.

2. (Arch.)

Definition: An ornamental foliation having five points or cups, used in windows, panels, etc. Gwilt. Marsh cinquefoil, the Potentilla palustris, a plant with purple flowers which grows in fresh-water marshes.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

14 March 2025

PARASITISM

(noun) the relation between two different kinds of organisms in which one receives benefits from the other by causing damage to it (usually not fatal damage)


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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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