Cowslips

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A flowering herb that belongs to the primrose family, recognized for its grouped yellow blossoms, often located in moist grassy areas during spring
2. This plant features sweet-scented yellow flowers that typically thrive in meadows and are among the first to bloom in the warmer seasons
3. A plant known for its clusters of yellow flowers that bloom early in the year, commonly found in damp grasslands

Etymology: "Cowslips" is the plural of "cowslip", and the plant's name is a compound of "cow" and an Old English word, "slyppe", meaning a sticky or viscid substance, like paste or dough. Old English "cūslyppe" joined these two, and the name reached Middle English as "cowslyppe". The "slyppe" element is related to "slūpan", "to slip, glide, move softly", which suggests the sticky sense developed from the idea of something soft and slippery. The name is one of a pair. Its close relative "oxlip", which likewise takes its first part from a farm animal, shows the same pattern of naming a flower after cattle, and the two names sit side by side in English plant vocabulary. Exactly why cows were chosen is not recorded in the etymology, so the "cow" element is best read as simply a farm animal associated with the grassy meadows where the plant grows.