ranunculus Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun annual, biennial or perennial herbs: buttercup; crowfoot
    genus Ranunculus.

WordNet

Ra*nun`cu*lus noun
Etymology
L., a little frog, a medicinal plant, perhaps crowfoot, dim. of rana a frog; cf. raccare to roar.
Wordforms
plural E Ranunculuses L Ranunculi
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A genus of herbs, mostly with yellow flowers, including crowfoot, buttercups, and the cultivated ranunculi (R. Asiaticus, R. aconitifolius, etc.) in which the flowers are double and of various colors.

Webster 1913