geranium

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a flowering plant of the genus Geranium, commonly called a cranesbill and often grown as a hardy garden perennial

   A wild geranium opened its pink flowers beside the woodland path.

2. 2
   noun

   a plant of the related genus Pelargonium, widely cultivated in pots and gardens and commonly called a geranium

   She moved the red geranium indoors before the first frost.

From Latin geranium and Greek geranion, 'little crane,' the diminutive of geranos, 'crane.' The name refers to the long, pointed fruit, which resembles a crane's bill. Garden pelargoniums retained the common name geranium after botanists separated the genera.

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