periwinkle Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun chiefly trailing poisonous plants with blue flowers
  2. noun commonly cultivated Old World woody herb having large pinkish to red flowers
    cayenne jasmine; rose periwinkle; old maid; Madagascar periwinkle; red periwinkle; Cape periwinkle; Catharanthus roseus; Vinca rosea.
  3. noun small edible marine snail; steamed in wine or baked
    winkle.
  4. noun edible marine gastropod
    winkle.

WordNet

Per"i*win`kle noun
Etymology
From AS. pinewincla a shellfish, in which pine- is fr. L. pina, pinna, a kind of mussel, akin to Gr. . Cf. Winkle.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) Any small marine gastropod shell of the genus Littorina. The common European species (Littorina littorea), in Europe extensively used as food, has recently become naturalized abundantly on the American coast. See Littorina. ✍ In America the name is often applied to several large univalves, as Fulgur carica, and F. canaliculata.
Per"i*win`kle noun
Etymology
OE. pervenke, AS. pervince, fr. L. pervinca.
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A trailing herb of the genus Vinca. ✍ The common perwinkle (Vinca minor) has opposite evergreen leaves and solitary blue or white flowers in their axils. In America it is often miscalled myrtle. See under Myrtle.

Webster 1913