Jupiter's beard

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English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Calque of Latin barba Iovis.

Noun[edit]

Jupiter's beard (uncountable)

  1. A common name for various plants:
    1. The red valerian, Centranthus ruber
    2. (obsolete) Aster linosyris, a European plant with yellow flowers.
    3. The silverbush, Anthyllis barba-jovis, a European shrub with silvery leaves.
    4. The common houseleek, Sempervivum tectorum.
      • 1658: Thus […] nature […] somewhat after this manner hath ordered the bush in Jupiters beard, or houseleek; which old superstition set on the tops of houses, as a defensative against lightening, and thunder. — Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus (Folio Society 2007, p. 181)
    5. A white-edged fungus, Hyphodontia barba-jovis.

References[edit]

  • OED, 3rd edition
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