時計草

Japanese

時計草 (tokeisō): a passionflower as seen from above, with the three parts of the pistil shown as the dark, thick arms extending from the center.

Kanji in this term
時	計	草
とき > と Grade: 2	けい Grade: 2	そう Grade: 1
irregular		on’yomi

Etymology

Compound of 時計 (tokei, “clock”, jukujikun (熟字訓)) +‎ 草 (sō, “herb, plant”), so named because the shape of the flower is similar to a clock. The pistil's three parts can be likened to the hour hand, minute hand, and second hand of a clock, as seen in the image.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) とけーそー [tòkéésóó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [to̞ke̞ːso̞ː]

Noun

時(と)計(けい)草(そう) or 時計草(トケイソウ) • (tokeisō) ^{←とけいさう (tokeisau) or トケイサウ (tokeisau)?}

1. a passion flower