Jupiter's beard en · NOUN
Etymology
Calque of Latin barba Iovis.
Meanings
- (uncountable) A common name for various plants: ▸ The red valerian, Centranthus ruber
- (obsolete, uncountable) A common name for various plants: ▸ Aster linosyris, a European plant with yellow flowers.
- (uncountable) A common name for various plants: ▸ The silverbush, Anthyllis barba-jovis, a European shrub with silvery leaves.
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(uncountable) A common name for various plants: ▸ The common houseleek, Sempervivum tectorum.
1658: Thus […] nature […] somewhat after this manner hath ordered the bush in Jupiters''' beard, or houseleek; which old superstition set on the tops of houses, as a defensative against lightening, and thunder. — Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus (Folio Society 2007, p. 181)
- (uncountable) A common name for various plants: ▸ A white-edged fungus, Hyphodontia barba-jovis.