What does dandelion mean?
The dandelion is a familiar perennial plant of the daisy family, found throughout temperate lawns, meadows, and roadsides across Britain, North America, and much of Europe. It is instantly recognizable by its rosette of deeply toothed leaves, its cheerful golden-yellow flower head made of many tiny florets, and, after flowering, its distinctive spherical seed head — a globe of silky parachutes each carrying a single seed, dispersed at the slightest breath of wind. Though widely regarded as a garden weed, the dandelion has long been valued as food and folk medicine: its bitter young leaves are eaten in salads, its roots roasted as a coffee substitute, and its flowers used in wine-making. In British tradition, blowing off all the seeds of a 'dandelion clock' was said to reveal the hour or grant a wish. The name derives from the medieval French dent de lion, meaning 'tooth of the lion', a reference to the jagged leaf margins.
nounA common wild plant of the daisy family, with bright yellow flowers and jagged leaves, followed by a spherical seed head of downy tufts that disperse in the wind; it is widespread as a weed in lawns and meadows.
- The perennial plant Taraxacum officinale, known for its jagged leaves, bright yellow composite flowers, and globe-shaped seed heads.
- The flower or seed head of this plant, especially as blown by children to 'tell the time' (a dandelion clock) or make a wish.
- The edible leaves of the plant, used as salad greens or cooked vegetables.
"The lawn was dotted with dandelions, their yellow heads turning toward the morning sun."
"She blew gently on the dandelion clock, sending the tiny seeds drifting across the garden."
"Dandelion greens, slightly bitter when raw, mellow beautifully when sautéed with garlic."
Standard regular plural. Used both for multiple plants and, informally, for the flowers themselves.
"By late spring the unmown verge had turned into a sea of dandelions."
Its name literally means 'tooth of the lion' — a nod to the jagged edges of its leaves — and every one of those floating seed heads carries up to around 200 seeds apiece.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dandelion
The word dandelion entered English in the early 16th century from medieval French dent de lion, meaning 'lion's tooth', an allusion to the coarsely toothed leaves of the plant. The French phrase itself calqued a Latin form such as dens leonis used by earlier botanical writers. It shares the Latin root dens, dentis ('tooth') with English words like dental, dentist, and indent, which arrived through other routes.
How dandelion is actually used
Informal to neutral in register. The word often carries connotations of childhood nostalgia and wildness rather than mere weediness; gardeners may treat it as a nuisance, while foragers prize its edible leaves and roots.
Easily confused with dandelion
Cat's ear is a similar-looking yellow-flowered weed with branched, hairy stems, whereas the dandelion has smooth, hollow, unbranched flower stalks and a single flower per stem.