Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of several plants of the genus Gypsophila native to Eurasia, especially G. paniculata, having numerous small, white flowers in profusely branched panicles and often used in flower arrangements.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun US, Canada A genus,
Gypsophila , of about 100 species of flowering plants in the familyCaryophyllaceae , native to Europe, Asia and north Africa.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun tall plant with small lance-shaped leaves and numerous tiny white or pink flowers
Etymologies
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word baby's breath.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
treeseed commented on the word baby's breath
Gypsophila (Baby's-breath; Gypsophila) is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the family Caryophyllaceae, native to Europe, Asia and north Africa. Many species are found on calcium-rich soils, including gypsum, whence the name of the genus. Some species are also sometimes called "baby's breath" or simply, "Gyp", among the floral industry. Its botanical name means "lover of chalk", which is accurate in describing the type of soil in which this plant grows.
They are herbaceous annual and perennial plants growing to 5-120 cm tall. The leaves are opposite, linear to narrow triangular, often falcate (sickle-shaped), 1-7 cm long and 2-8 mm broad. The flowers are produced in large inflorescences, which may be either dense or open and lax; each flower is small, 3-10 mm diameter, with five white or pink petals.
_Wikipedia
I love the trade name of gypsophila paniculata: Bristol Fairy
February 10, 2008
kewpid commented on the word baby's breath
They are used as "filler" in flower arrangements.
February 10, 2008
vanishedone commented on the word baby's breath
I thought it was just a song with a vaguely sinister music video.
February 10, 2008