periwinkle

per•i•win•kle¹ n. [countable]

per•i•win•kle² n. [countable]

Plant Biologya plant having glossy evergreen leaves and usually blue-violet flowers.

Also called myrtle.

per•i•win•kle¹ n.

any of various marine gastropods or sea snails, esp. Littorina littorea, used for food in Europe.
the shell of any of these animals.

Greek pîna, variant of pínna kind of mollusk) + wincle, cognate with dialect, dialectal Danish vinkel snail shell
Latin pīna
perh. reflecting (through assimilation to periwinkle²) Old English pīnewincle, equivalent. to pīne (1520–30

per•i•win•kle² n.

Plant BiologyAlso called myrtle. a trailing plant, Vinca minor, of the dogbane family, having glossy, evergreen foliage and usually blue-violet flowers.
Plant Biologyany of several similar plants of the genus Vinca or Catharanthus.

Late Latin pervinca
Late Latin pervinca, Latin vi(n)capervi(n)ca; compare Old English peruince, Middle High German ber(e)winke
Anglo-French pervenke (Old French pervenche)
earlier pervinkle, perwinkle, alteration (see -le) of Middle English perwinke, pervinke bef. 1000

per′i•win′kled, adj.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

periwinkle /ˈpɛrɪˌwɪŋk^əl/ n

any of various edible marine gastropods of the genus Littorina, esp L. littorea, having a spirally coiled shellOften shortened to: winkle

Etymology: 16th Century: of unknown origin

periwinkle /ˈpɛrɪˌwɪŋk^əl/ n

Also called (US): creeping myrtle any of several Eurasian apocynaceous evergreen plants of the genus Vinca, such as V. minor (lesser periwinkle) and V. major (greater periwinkle), having trailing stems and blue flowers

Etymology: 14th Century pervenke, from Old English perwince, from Late Latin pervinca

'periwinkle' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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periwinkle eyes patched with grey

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