What does crowfoot mean?
Crowfoot is a traditional English name for many of the flowering herbaceous plants of the genus Ranunculus — the flowers most people know as buttercups. The name comes from the shape of the plant's deeply divided leaves, which were thought to resemble the print of a crow's foot. Crowfoots typically bear glossy yellow, five-petalled flowers and flourish in meadows, pastures, marshes, and other damp ground, where some creeping species can spread aggressively. Although charming in appearance, many species contain compounds that make them acutely toxic to livestock if eaten fresh. In modern usage the word is largely confined to botanical, gardening, and rural contexts, with "buttercup" serving as the ordinary household name; several species are still distinguished by qualifiers such as creeping crowfoot or celery-leaved crowfoot.
nounAny of numerous herbaceous plants of the genus Ranunculus, typically bearing glossy yellow flowers; commonly called buttercups. The name alludes to the shape of the leaves, which resemble a crow's foot.
- Any of various plants of the genus Ranunculus, especially those with yellow flowers, named for their crow's-foot-shaped leaves; a synonym for buttercup.
- In older technical use, a thing resembling such a branching or three-pronged shape (as in certain knots, tools, or patterns called a 'crow's-foot').
"The damp meadow was bright with crowfoot by late spring."
"The children held crowfoot blossoms under each other's chins to see who 'liked butter.'"
"Creeping crowfoot spread quickly across the wet corner of the pasture."
Regular plural; used mainly in botanical writing when referring collectively to multiple plants of the group.
"Crowfoots flourished along the irrigation ditches each spring."
Botanists named this sunny meadow flower after a bird's footprint because its divided leaves look exactly like a crow's track pressed into mud.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of crowfoot
The word is a straightforward Middle English compound of "crow" and "foot," formed because the plant's lobed leaves were thought to mimic a crow's footprint; it has been applied to Ranunculus species since medieval times. The second element ultimately descends from the ancient Indo-European root *ped-, meaning foot, which also yields Latin-derived borrowings such as pedal, podium, and tripod. A related compound, crane's-bill, follows the same bird-plus-body-part naming pattern among wildflowers.
How crowfoot is actually used
Primarily a botanical and rural term; in everyday modern speech people more often say "buttercup." Some species are mildly toxic to livestock when fresh, though usually avoided by grazing animals.
Easily confused with crowfoot
"Crow's feet" refers to the fine wrinkles radiating from the outer corner of the eye, while "crowfoot" is a name for certain buttercup plants.