Burnet

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈbɜːnɪt/

Definitions

1. A group of herbaceous plants with compound leaves and small flowers often used for medicinal or ornamental purposes ; a moth belonging to the genus Zygaena with brightly colored wings commonly found in Europe
2. Herbaceous plants known for their pinnate leaves and clusters of flowers sometimes used in traditional remedies ; an insect species characterized by vivid wing patterns acting as a warning to predators
3. Certain flowering plants with distinctive leaves valued in gardens or herbal medicine ; a genus of moths easily identified by their striking wing coloration and day-flying habit

Etymology: The plant name and the moth-like insect name are the same word, and both trace back to a colour. Middle English "burnet" came from Old French "brunet", a diminutive of "brun" meaning brown, the same root that gives English "brunette". The plants were named for the dark reddish-brown or dusky tint of their flower heads, which in the great burnet, for example, form compact clusters of deep crimson-brown blooms. The word is a doublet of "brunette", meaning that the two English words entered the language by separate routes from one Old French source, so they look and sound related but arrived at different times and took on different senses. "Brunette" kept its meaning as a term for a dark-haired woman, while "burnet" settled on the plant, and later on the moth family, whose brownish or dusky markings suggested the same colour name.

Synonyms: herb, plant