burnet

 
Pronunciation: /ˈbəːnɪt/

noun

  • 1a herbaceous plant of the rose family, with globular pinkish flower heads and leaves composed of many small leaflets.
    • Genus Sanguisorba, family Rosaceae: several species, including the edible salad burnet (S. minor), and the spiny shrub-like thorny burnet (S. spinosum) of the eastern Mediterranean
  • 2a day-flying moth that typically has greenish-black wings with crimson markings.
    • Zygaena and other genera, family Zygaenidae

Origin:

Middle English (denoting a kind of dark brown woollen cloth): from Old French brunete, burnete (denoting brown cloth or a plant with brown flowers), diminutives of brun 'brown'