What does antirrhinum mean?
Antirrhinum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, best known to gardeners as snapdragons. The name comes from Greek roots meaning 'like a nose', because the shape of the flower was thought to resemble an animal's snout; pinching the sides of the two-lipped bloom makes it gape open like a mouth, giving rise to the popular common name. The best-known species is Antirrhinum majus, the common snapdragon, a staple of cottage gardens and summer bedding schemes, prized for its tall spikes of brightly coloured flowers in shades of red, pink, yellow, orange, and white. In everyday conversation people usually say 'snapdragon', while 'antirrhinum' appears in seed catalogues, botanical writing, and formal garden contexts. The word is almost always used as a noun referring either to the genus itself or to an individual plant grown ornamentally.
A genus of flowering plants (family Plantaginaceae), commonly called snapdragons, native chiefly to Europe and the Mediterranean region, cultivated for their showy two-lipped flowers.
"The nursery stocked several varieties of antirrhinum for the spring planting season."
Used both for the genus as a whole and, informally, for any individual plant of the genus.
An individual plant of this genus, especially one grown ornamentally in gardens.
"An antirrhinum self-seeded in the crack between the paving stones and bloomed all summer."
When pluralizing a genus name in general prose, the capital letter is dropped, so 'antirrhinums' is standard outside strict botanical nomenclature.
"The border was filled with antirrhinums in every shade from deep crimson to pale lemon."
Squeeze an antirrhinum's bloom and it 'snaps' open like a tiny dragon's jaw — which is exactly how it got its nickname.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of antirrhinum
The word antirrhinum derives from Latin, which borrowed it from Greek antirrhinon, a compound of anti- ('against' or 'resembling') and rhis ('nose' or 'snout'), a reference to the flower's snout-like appearance. The same Greek root rhis gives us words such as rhinoceros ('nose-horned') and rhinitis (inflammation of the nose). The Latin name was adopted into botanical nomenclature by early modern botanists and remains the accepted scientific genus name today.
Related word forms
How antirrhinum is actually used
Mostly used in gardening, horticultural, and botanical contexts; in casual speech most people simply say 'snapdragon'. The plural is conventionally written without a capital letter ('antirrhinums'), following standard practice for pluralized genus names.
Easily confused with antirrhinum
Snapdragon is the everyday common name for plants of the genus Antirrhinum, whereas antirrhinum is the formal botanical genus name.