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periwinkle1

Definition of periwinkle

noun

  • an Old World plant with flat five-petalled flowers and glossy leaves. Some kinds are grown as ornamentals and some contain alkaloids used in medicine.
    • Genera Vinca and Catharanthus, family Apocynaceae

Origin:

late Old English peruince, from late Latin pervinca, reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman French pervenke. The change of -v- to -w- and the addition of -le seem to have occurred before the appearance of periwinkle2

periwinkle in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of periwinkle in the US English dictionary