creeping cinquefoil

noun

See under cinquefoil(def 1).

Words nearby creeping cinquefoil

creepage, creeper, creepie, creeping, creeping bent grass, creeping cinquefoil, creeping eruption, creeping fescue, creeping jennie, creeping jesus, creeping juniper

Definition for creeping cinquefoil (2 of 2)

cinquefoil
[ singk-foil ]
/ ˈsɪŋkˌfɔɪl /

noun

any of several plants belonging to the genus Potentilla, of the rose family, having yellow, red, or white five-petaled flowers, as P. reptans (creeping cinquefoil), of the Old World, or P. argentea (silvery cinquefoil), of North America.
Also called quinquefoil, quintefoil. Architecture. a panellike ornament consisting of five lobes, divided by cusps, radiating from a common center.
Heraldry. a charge in the form of a five-leaved clover.

Origin of cinquefoil

1375–1425; late Middle English sink foil < Middle French cincfoille < Latin quīnque folia five leaves, translation of Greek pentáphyllon

British Dictionary definitions for creeping cinquefoil

cinquefoil
/ (ˈsɪŋkˌfɔɪl) /

noun

any plant of the N temperate rosaceous genus Potentilla, typically having five-lobed compound leaves
an ornamental carving in the form of five arcs arranged in a circle and separated by cusps
heraldry a charge representing a five-petalled flower

Word Origin for cinquefoil

C13 sink foil, from Old French cincfoille, from Latin quinquefolium plant with five leaves, translating Greek pentaphullon from pente five + phullon leaf