Dictionary

cowslip en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈkaʊ.slɪp/
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English cowslyppe, from Old English cūslyppe (“cowslip”), from cū (“cow”) + slyppe (“paste, viscid substance”), related to Old English slūpan (“to slip, glide, move softly”). Compare oxlip.

Meanings

1. A low-growing plant, Primula veris, with yellow flowers.
   • Here is spring were celandine, marsh marigold, wind-flower, primrose, cowslip and dog's violet. 1977, K.M. Elizabeth Murray, Caught in the Web of Words, Oxford: Oxford University Press, page 13:
   • Where the bee sucks, there suck I: / In a cowslip's bell I lie; 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:
2. Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance ▸ Primula deorum, a flowering plant known as God's cowslip and rila cowslip
3. Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance ▸ Primula florindae, a flowering plant known as giant cowslip and Tibetan cowslip
4. Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance ▸ Primula sikkimensis, a flowering plant known as Himalayan cowslip and Sikkim cowslip
5. (Canada, US, regional) Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance ▸ marsh marigold, Caltha palustris, a plant in the buttercup family, growing in wet, boggy locations.
6. Any of several other plants related or similar in appearance ▸ Pulmonaria angustifolia, blue cowslip or narrow-leaved lungwort
7. (abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis) Ellipsis of cowslip tea: a kind of green tea; an herbal tea made with cowslip flowers.
   alt of cowslip tea

Forms

Deriveds

Japanese cowslip · American cowslip · cowslip primrose · blue cowslip · Himalayan cowslip · Rila cowslip · Sikkim cowslip · Tibetan cowslip · Virginia cowslip · giant cowslip · royal cowslip · cowslipped · mealy cowslip · common cowslip

Synonyms

marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) · herb Peter (Primula veris) · mollyblobs (Caltha palustris) · kingcup (Caltha palustris) · horse blob (Caltha palustris) · paigle (Primula veris) · mayflower (Caltha palustris) · pollyblobs (Caltha palustris)

Translations (33)

pa ਗਾਉਜ਼ਬਾਨ (Primula veris) · hy գնարբուկ (Primula veris) · hy գնարբուկ գարնանային (Primula veris) · es bellorita (Primula veris) · hu tavaszi kankalin (Primula veris) · es aurícula (Primula veris) · es clavelina (Primula veris) · ru первоцве́т (Primula veris) · de Schlüsselblume (Primula veris) · ga bainne bó bleachtáin (Primula veris) · ro ciuboțica-cucului (Primula veris) · hy գովածաղիկ (Primula veris) · pdt Schlätelbloom (Primula veris) · hy կովացնծուկ (Primula veris) · cs prvosenka jarní (Primula veris) · ko 황화구륜초 (Primula veris) · ru при́мула (Primula veris) · nl gulden sleutelbloem (Primula veris) · mk петопрст (Primula veris) · sv gullviva (Primula veris) · ca cucut (Primula veris) · cy briallu Mair (sawrus) (Primula veris) · bg иглика (Primula veris) · fa پریمولا وریس (Primula veris) · cy gwefus y fuwch (Primula veris) · pl pierwiosnka lekarska (Primula veris) · ro limba-cucului (Primula veris) · ang cūslyppe (Primula veris) · ja 黄花の九輪桜 (Primula veris) · pl pierwiosnek lekarski (Primula veris) · ga bainne bó bleacht (Primula veris) · cs petrklíč (Primula veris) · fi kevätesikko (Primula veris)