Lexic.us

Definition of Nasturtium

1. Noun. Any tropical American plant of the genus Tropaeolum having pungent juice and long-spurred yellow to red flowers.

2. Noun. Aquatic herbs.

3. Noun. Flowers and seeds and leaves all used as flavorings.

Definition of Nasturtium

1. n. A genus of cruciferous plants, having white or yellowish flowers, including several species of cress. They are found chiefly in wet or damp grounds, and have a pungent biting taste.

Definition of Nasturtium

1. Noun. The popular name of the ''Tropaeolum'' genus of flowering plants native to south and central America. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Nasturtium

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Nasturtium

1. 1. A genus of cruciferous plants, having white or yellowish flowers, including several species of cress. They are found chiefly in wet or damp grounds, and have a pungent biting taste. 2. Any plant of the genus Tropaeolum, geraniaceous herbs, having mostly climbing stems, peltate leaves, and spurred flowers, and including the common Indian cress (Tropaeolum majus), the canary-bird flower (T. Peregrinum), and about thirty more species, all natives of South America. The whole plant has a warm pungent flavor, and the fleshy fruits are used as a substitute for capers, while the leaves and flowers are sometimes used in salads. Origin: L. Nasturtium, for nasitortium, fr. Nasus nose + torquere, tortum, to twist, torture, in allusion to the causing one to make a wry face by its pungent taste. See Nose of the face, and Torture. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Nasturtium

nastalik nastaliks nastic nastier nasties nastiest nastika nastily nastiness nastinesses

nastrophite nasturtia nasturtion nasturtions nasturtium (current term) nasturtium family nasturtiums nasty-gram nasty gram nastygram

nastygrams nasus nasus externus nasute nasutes nat nata de coco

Literary usage of Nasturtium

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge by Charles Knight (1843)
"T. minus, Small Indian Cress or nasturtium, has peltate-nerved orbicular leaves, the nerves mucronate at the apex ; the petals each ending in a bristle-like ..."

2. Handbook of Nature-study for Teachers and Parents: Based on the Cornell by Anna Botsford Comstock (1911)
"It is quite fitting that the nasturtium leaves should be shaped like shields, for that is one of their uses; they are shields to protect the young ..."

3. The Natural History of Pliny by Pliny, John Bostock, Henry Thomas Riley (1856)
"nasturtium has received that namo ... having become quite a proverbial saying, that a sluggish man should eat nasturtium, to arouse him from his torpidity. ..."

4. The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge by Charles Anderson Dana (1875)
"The genus nasturtium (Lat. nanu tortus, a tortured nose, ... The common garden nasturtium (T. majus) is one of the most generally cultivated annuals; ..."

5. A Few Familiar Flowers: How to Love Them at Home Or in School by Margaret Warner Morley (1897)
"The nasturtium has become such a favorite it can be obtained almost anywhere, ... Where the morning-glory has been studied first, the nasturtium should be ..."

6. The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge by George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana (1883)
"The genus nasturtium (Lat. name tortas, a tortured nose, some of the plants being exceedingly pungent) includes among other plants the well known water ..."

7. Flora Domestica, Or, The Portable Flower-garden: With Directions for the by Elizabeth Kent, Leigh Hunt (1831)
"THE nasturtium is a Peruvian plant; yet, in warm sheltered situations, will grow and flower ... There are the Great and the Small nasturtium, and a double- ..."

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