Definitions

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

  • noun Any of various tropical or subtropical plants of the genus Begonia, widely cultivated as ornamentals for showy brightly colored flowers.

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

  • noun Any plant of the large genus of Begonia.

Etymologies

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

[New Latin Begonia, genus name, after Michel Bégon, (1638–1710), French governor in the West Indies.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French bégonia, named after Michel Bégon (1638–1710), French governor of Saint-Domingue.

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Examples

  • A curve of lawn with a driveway, two-car garage, liriope and begonia planted on the sidewalks in summer, decorative purple cabbages and winter pansies from greenhouses in fall.

    For the Sake of the Boy Ramola D 2011

  • Cathy had brought over a large red begonia in bloom and some homemade cookies.

    The Memory Palace Mira Bartók 2011

  • Kristin: "don't forget to smell the rosies" - from a botanist's view, the flowers being smelt are of a begonia.

    mamie - French Word-A-Day 2010

  • Nonetheless, when the opportunity arose to have tea at the Regency Hotel Tuesday afternoon with Marge Ternes, the reigning grand dame of Park Avenue's malls, I was hopeful the opportunity would arise to raise the begonia question.

    Bemoaning the Begonias Ralph Gardner Jr. 2011

  • A celebrity among horticulturalists, he's even got a new kind of begonia named after him, Begonia blancii, after discovering it two years ago while trekking through a rainforest in the Philippines.

    The Green Man Whose Gardens Defy Gravity Julia Flynn Siler 2011

  • While sitting beneath those fragrant pink trumpets, Morris can gaze across the porch at this stunning 'Bonita Shea' begonia.

    Cat’s Eye View « Sugar Creek Gardens’ Blog 2009

  • They would stop to admire the begonia pots, take pictures of the walls that had been the scenes of the vengeful executions … brigades of workers had carefully erased the bullet marks.

    10 of the best books set in Barcelona 2011

  • Cathy had brought over a large red begonia in bloom and some homemade cookies.

    The Memory Palace Mira Bartók 2011

  • They would stop to admire the begonia pots, take pictures of the walls that had been the scenes of the vengeful executions … brigades of workers had carefully erased the bullet marks.

    10 of the best books set in Barcelona 2011

  • I'm not some shy begonia just off the yam truck; I'm more than happy to call a rake "a rake" and a hoe "a hoe" and play the game as directed.

    nad hen j��c eto 2010

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