Standard Lemma guide

bougainvillea

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌbuː.ɡənˈvɪl.ɪ.ə/
  • US: /ˌbu.ɡənˈvɪl.jə/
  • US: /ˌboʊ.ɡənˈvɪl.jə/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: B UW2 G EY2 N V IH1 L IY0 AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of several South American flowering shrubs or lianas, of the genus Bougainvillea, having three showy, colorful bracts attached below each group of three inconspicuous flowers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

any of several South American ornamental woody vines of the genus Bougainvillea having brilliant red or purple flower bracts; widely grown in warm regions

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: vine

Narrower terms: paper flower, Bougainvillea glabra

History

Etymology

From taxonomic name Bougainvillea, from French Bougainville + -a. Named after French admiral and explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville (1729–1811).

Across languages

Translations

37 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: buguenvíl·lia — flower
  • Dutch: bougainvillea — flower
  • Esperanto: bugenvilo — flower
  • Finnish: ihmeköynnös — flower
  • Finnish: bougainvillea — flower
  • French: bougainvillée — flower
  • French: bougainvillier — flower
  • German: Bougainvillea — flower
  • Greek: μπουκαμβίλια (boukamvília) — flower
  • Indonesian: bugenvil — flower
  • Indonesian: bunga kertas — flower
  • Italian: buganvillea — flower
  • Japanese: ブーゲンビリア (būgenbiria) — flower
  • Lithuanian: bugenvilija — flower
  • Malay: bunga kertas — flower
  • Norwegian: bougainvillea — flower
  • Norwegian: trillingblomst — flower
  • Polish: bugenwilla — flower
  • Portuguese: bougainvillea — flower
  • Portuguese: buganvília — flower
  • Romanian: bougainvillea — flower
  • Russian: бугенвиллия (bugenvillija) — flower
  • Spanish: buganvilia — flower
  • Spanish: buganvilla — flower
  • Spanish: comomosí — flower
  • Spanish: papelillo — flower
  • Spanish: Santa Rita — flower
  • Spanish: trinitaria — flower
  • Spanish: veranera — flower
  • Spanish: bugambilia (Mesoamerica) — flower
  • Swedish: trillingblomssläktet — flower
  • Tagalog: bogambilya — flower
  • Telugu: కాగితంపువ్వు (kāgitampuvvu) — flower
  • Thai: เฟื่องฟ้า (fʉ̂ʉang-fáa) — flower
  • Turkish: begonvil — flower
  • Ukrainian: бугенвілія (buhenvilija) — flower
  • Vietnamese: hoa giấy — flower