Dictionary

snapdragon en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈsnæpdɹæɡən/ (US)

Etymology

(1570s) From snap + dragon, from a fancied resemblance, especially by playing children that the flower is a dragon that opens its "mouth" when squeezed on the sides. Compare for this sense the etymology of Dutch leeuwenbek (“snapdragon”, literally “lion's mouth”) and German Löwenmaul. An ancient name was Old English hundeshéafod (literally “dog's head”). For the parlour game sense, the 1704 Swift quotation is apparently the earliest appearance in print. Other animal-based names for the flower are common; compare Greek σκυλάκι (skyláki, literally “puppy”) and Finnish leijonankita (literally “lion's mouth”).

Meanings

1. (countable) Any plant of the genus Antirrhinum, with showy yellow, white or red flowers.
   • Modern snapdragons aren't usually grown for their scent, although some do smell slightly spicy. 2006, Lynn Coulter, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds, University of North Carolina Press, page 59:
   • Snapdragon leaves are asymmetrical with respect to dorsal-ventral surfaces (Fig. 6.6A). 1998, Stephen H. Howell, Molecular Genetics of Plant Development, Cambridge University Press, page 146:
   • 2000, Margaret Roberts, Edible & Medicinal Flowers, New Africa Books (The Spearhead Press), page 72, The snapdragon is indigenous to Europe and has been a much loved garden plant since before the Middle Ages, when it was considered an antidote against witchcraft.
   • […]of kitchen-gardens, and straight herb-borders, and warm snap-dragon beset by bees; 1908 October, Kenneth Grahame, “Toad's Adventures”, in The Wind in the Willows, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, page 166:
2. (uncountable) A game in which raisins are snatched from a vessel containing burning brandy, and eaten; the substance snatched and eaten during the playing of the game; the vessel used for the game.
   • "And now for snap-dragon," said Marian. "Exactly as you predicted, Mr. Graham," said Madeline; "blind-man's buff at a quarter past three, and snap-dragon at five." 1862, Anthony Trollope, Orley Farm, Chapman and Hall, published 1868, page 159:
   • He bore a ſtrange kind of Appetite to Snap-dragon, and to the livid Snuffs of a burning Candle, which he would catch and ſwallow with an Agility, wonderful to conceive; [...] 1704, [Jonathan Swift], “Section XI”, in A Tale of a Tub. […], London: […] John Nutt, […], →OCLC, page 198:
   • 2014, Sabrina Jeffries, When Sparks Fly, Simon & Schuster (Pocket Star Books), unnumbered page, "I hope we play snapdragon," eight-year-old Timothy Metcalf said. "I wish we could," Ellie said, "but I doubt Papa will allow it. He'll say snatching raisins from a burning bowl of brandy is too dangerous." "But snapdragon is a Christmas tradition!" protested Percy.
   • From the 16th to 19th centuries, no Christmas Eve celebration was complete without a hearty game of Snapdragon in the parlor. 2014, Stephanie Barron, On Hosting Your Regency-Era Christmas Party, Soho Press, page 13:

Forms

Deriveds

summer snapdragon · snapdragon double · Mediterranean snapdragon · common snapdragon

Synonyms

flapdragon (game) · dragon flower (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum)

Translations (47)

ro gura-leului (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · cs hledík (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · it bocca di leone (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · my ကျားပါးစပ် (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · sv lejongap (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · da løvemund (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · hu tátika (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · cmn 金魚草 /金鱼草 (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · el σκυλάκι (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · cy ceg fy nain (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · de Löwenmäuler (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · pt erva-bezerra (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · fi leijonankita (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · tr aslanağzı (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · eo leonfaŭko (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · pt antirrino (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · cy safn y llew (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · et lõvilõug (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · nv shį́náldzidí (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · es boca de dragón (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · pl lwia paszcza (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · eo antirino (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · nrf dgeule-dé-lion (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · fr gueule-de-loup (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · pl wyżlin (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · he לֹעַ הָאֲרִי (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · cy trwyn y llo (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · bg кученце (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · pt boca-de-lobo (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · fa گل میمون (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · cy pen ci bach (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · mk зе́јка (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · de Löwenmäulchen (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · pt boca-de-leão (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · bn গুল ময়মন (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · nl leeuwenbek (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · ang hundeshéafod (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · ar أَنْف الْعِجْل (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · ru льви́ный зев (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · lt žioveinis (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · mk зја́јка (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · hrx Leebmeilche (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · eo lupfaŭko (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · hu oroszlánszáj (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · grc ἀνάρρινον (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · kk есінек (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum) · ga antairíneam (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum)

wikidata: Q157646