Standard Lemma guide
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.
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noun
Any of several flowering plants of the genus Alcea in the Malvaceae family.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
any of various tall plants of the genus Alcea; native to the Middle East but widely naturalized and cultivated for its very large variously colored flowers
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mallow
Narrower terms: rose mallow, Alcea rosea, Althea rosea
noun
any of various plants of the genus Althaea; similar to but having smaller flowers than genus Alcea
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: althea, althaea
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mallow
Narrower terms: marsh mallow, white mallow, Althea officinalis
History
From Middle English holihocke, holyhokke, holihoc, from holi (“holy”) + hocke, hokke, hoc (“mallow”) (from Old English hoc (“marsh mallow”). The modern hollyhock was probably unknown in England until the 15th century, so usage before then no doubt referred to some other mallow. Apparently so called for being brought from the Holy Land; compare an old name for it in Medieval Latin cauli Sancti Cuthberti (“St. Cuthbert's cole”).
Across languages
44 source translations are retained for this English entry.
