heather

[ heth-er ]
/ ˈhɛð ər /

noun

any of various heaths, especially Calluna vulgaris, of England and Scotland, having small, pinkish-purple flowers.

adjective

(of a yarn or fabric color) subtly flecked or mottled: all-cotton turtlenecks in your choice of five solid colors plus heather gray and heather green.

Origin of heather

1300–50; spelling variant of hether, earlier hedder, hadder, hather, Middle English hathir; akin to heath

OTHER WORDS FROM heather

heath·ered, adjective

Definition for heather (2 of 2)

Heather
[ heth-er ]
/ ˈhɛð ər /

noun

a female given name.

Example sentences from the Web for heather

British Dictionary definitions for heather

heather
/ (ˈhɛðə) /

noun

Also called: ling, heath a low-growing evergreen Eurasian ericaceous shrub, Calluna vulgaris, that grows in dense masses on open ground and has clusters of small bell-shaped typically pinkish-purple flowers
any of certain similar plants
a purplish-red to pinkish-purple colour

adjective

of a heather colour
of or relating to interwoven yarns of mixed colours heather mixture

Derived forms of heather

heathered, adjective heathery, adjective

Word Origin for heather

C14: originally Scottish and Northern English, probably from heath