Echinacea

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃə

Origin

From scientific Latin Echinacea, from Ancient Greek ἐχῖνος ("hedgehog") (because of the soft "spines" in the centre of the flower) + -acea.

Full definition of echinacea

Noun

1. (countable) Any of several plants, of genus Echinacea, having pinkish-purple flowers.
2. (uncountable) A herbal medicine extracted from the roots and seeds of such plants.
• 2013-03, David S. Senchina, Athletics and Herbal Supplements, Athletes' use of herbal supplements has skyrocketed in the past two decades. At the top of the list of popular herbs are echinacea and ginseng, whereas garlic, St. John's wort, soybean, ephedra and others are also surging in popularity or have been historically prevalent.

Hyponyms

• (plant of genus Echinacea) purple coneflower