foxglove [foks-gluhv] EXAMPLES|WORD ORIGIN noun any Eurasian plant belonging to the genus Digitalis, of the figwort family, especially D. purpurea, having drooping, tubular, purple or white flowers on tall spikes, and leaves that are the source of digitalis in medicine. Liberaldictionary.com
Origin of foxglove before 1000; Middle English foxes glove, Old English foxes glōfa. See fox, glove Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Examples from the Web for foxglove Historical Examples of foxglove
That the exhibition of the Foxglove was but seldom attended with sickness.
An Account of the Foxglove and some of its Medical Uses
William Withering
Among the fern at this season stood the tall dead stalks of foxglove.
Walter Besant
The Foxglove leaves are broad and long, and they are pointed at the end.
C. E. Smith
In irregular flowers, like the snapdragon and foxglove, the decoration is irregular.
Colouration in Animals and Plants
Alfred Tylor
A rival in sound could be made by popping the foxglove’s fingers.
Alice Morse Earle
British Dictionary definitions for foxglove foxglove noun any Eurasian scrophulariaceous plant of the genus Digitalis, esp D. purpurea, having spikes of purple or white thimble-like flowers. The soft wrinkled leaves are a source of digitalis Word Origin for foxglove Old English Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for foxglove n.
Old English foxes glofa; the reason for fox is uncertain. Cf. Old English foxesfot (“fox foot”) “xiphion;” foxesclate “burdock.”
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper foxglove in Medicine foxglove [fŏks′glŭv′] n. Any of several herbs of the genus Digitalis, especially D. purpurea, having a long cluster of large, tubular, pinkish-purple flowers and leaves that are the source of the drug digitalis. The American Heritage® Stedman’s Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.