Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A European alpine plant (Leontopodium alpinum) in the composite family, having leaves covered with whitish down and small flower heads surrounded by conspicuous whitish bracts.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The Leontopodium alpinum (Gnaphalium Leontopodium) of the Alps and Pyrenees, a plant much sought for by travelers in Switzerland, where it grows at a great altitude in situations difficult of access.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) A little, perennial, white, woolly plant (Leontopodium alpinum), growing at high elevations in the Alps. It is the national flower of Austria.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A European perennial alpine plant, Leontopodium alpinum, with downy leaves and small white flower heads in a dense cluster.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun alpine perennial plant native to Europe having leaves covered with whitish down and small flower heads held in stars of glistening whitish bracts

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[German : edel, noble (from Middle High German edele, from Old High German edili) + weiss, white (from Middle High German wīz, from Old High German wīz, hwīz; see kweit- in Indo-European roots).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From German Edelweiß, from edel ("noble") + weiß ("white").

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Examples

  • Jinny, dear, you don't know how hard it is to crowd 'edelweiss' into one syllable until you've tried.

    The Clarion Samuel Hopkins Adams 1914

  • Snow-laced massifs vault into a dark-blue sky and green hills cascade to the valleys below, a panoptic of edelweiss and immortality.

    The Coolest Ferrari Ever—Drive Carefully Dan Neil 2011

  • There were a few older chalets among them, with ancient wood carving over the doors—whittled pinecones and holly sprigs and edelweiss.

    Agent Q, or The Smell Of Danger! M. T. Anderson 2010

  • Peddling up a steep hill, I pass a cluster of Italian farm houses set in a lush field that's littered with edelweiss.

    Harmon Leon: Dolomite Biking: Are You Experienced? 2010

  • Despite the untimely accident within a field of wild edelweiss, this still has been one of the happiest adventures in my life.

    Harmon Leon: Dolomite Biking: Are You Experienced? 2010

  • There were a few older chalets among them, with ancient wood carving over the doors—whittled pinecones and holly sprigs and edelweiss.

    Agent Q, or The Smell Of Danger! M. T. Anderson 2010

  • I floor it down a field of non-ironic edelweiss set in a peaceful meadow; like you'd see in the movie Sound of Music.

    Harmon Leon: Dolomite Biking: Are You Experienced? 2010

  • The bright flowers of the edelweiss waiting to be gathered among the rough rocks of difficult circumstances -- we may call the consolations of God what we will -- who are we that we should find such comforts anywhere?

    Archive 2009-09-01 Gumbo Lily 2009

  • Later, I found out this mural depicted a story of a lover fetching edelweiss flowers for his lover.

    Road Trip Janelle Johnson 2009

  • The bright flowers of the edelweiss waiting to be gathered among the rough rocks of difficult circumstances -- we may call the consolations of God what we will -- who are we that we should find such comforts anywhere?

    I am with you always.... Gumbo Lily 2009

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