frangipani

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a tropical American shrub or small tree of the genus Plumeria, grown for its clusters of strongly fragrant flowers

   A white frangipani grew beside the hotel terrace.

2. 2
   noun

   a waxy, fragrant flower produced by this plant

   She tucked a yellow frangipani behind her ear.

3. 3
   noun

   a perfume derived from or imitating the scent of these flowers

   The room carried a heavy trace of frangipani.

Through French frangipane from Italian Frangipani, the surname of a Roman noble family. The flower was named for a perfume associated with a sixteenth-century Marquis Frangipani. Frangipanni is an established, less common variant spelling.

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