hydrangea

noun

hy·​dran·​gea hī-ˈdrān-jə 

: any of a genus (Hydrangea) of mostly shrubs having opposite leaves and showy clusters of usually sterile white, pink, or bluish flowers that is either placed in the saxifrage family or the hydrangea family (Hydrangeaceae)

Examples of hydrangea in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pair a set with a bouquet of hydrangeas for an unforgettable gift. —Amanda Lauren, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024

Long Beach Realtors Loree Scarborough and Tessa Owen were holding several fat bundles of blue hydrangeas around 8:30 a.m. while considering long stems of orange ranunculus for a client appreciation event later that day. —Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 20 Nov. 2024

From grasses to hydrangeas, this is an easy, no-brainer, and requires no special equipment and not a ton of time. —Paul Cappiello, The Courier-Journal, 8 Nov. 2024

Four weeks before your first frost is a good time to plant new hydrangeas. —Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, genus name, from Greek hydr- hydr- + New Latin -angēa, feminine derivative from Greek angeîon "vessel, container" — more at angio-

Note: The genus name dates from linnaeus's Species plantarum, vol. 1 (1753), p. 397. Linnaeus took the name from Jan Frederik Gronovius and John Clayton's Flora Virginica, pars prima (Leiden, 1739), p. 50. Since the 19th century the name Hydrangea, taken to mean "water vessel," is said to refer to the "cup-like form of the seed-capsule" (hence Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, 1899). However, Gronovius, presumably the immediate author of the text, gives no indication of the name's significance. He describes the fruit of Hydrangea arborescens as "a small two-chambered vessel filled with tiny seeds, crowned with two small threads or little horns bent backward" ("… vasculo parvo bicapsulari seminibus minutissimis repleto, duobus parvis filamentis seu corniculis recurvis cornato"). This accords well with pictures of the plant's small seed capsules, though it takes some imagination to see an individual capsule as a water vessel.

First Known Use

circa 1753, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hydrangea

noun

hy·​dran·​gea hī-ˈdrān-jə 

: any of a genus of shrubby plants with showy clusters of usually sterile white, pink, or bluish flowers

Medical Definition

hydrangea

noun

hy·​dran·​gea hī-ˈdrān-jə 

1

capitalized : a large genus of widely distributed shrubs and one woody vine (family Saxifragaceae) with opposite leaves and showy clusters of usually sterile white, pink, or bluish flowers

2

: any plant of the genus Hydrangea

3

: the dried rhizome and roots of the wild plant of the genus Hydrangea (H. arborescens) formerly used in pharmacy as a diuretic