- Enter a word for the dictionary definition. From The
Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Ranunculus \Ra*nun"cu*lus\ (r[.a]*n[u^][ng]"k[-u]*l[u^]s), n.;
pl. E. Ranunculuses (r[.a]*n[u^][ng]"k[-u]*l[u^]s*[e^]z), L.
Ranunculi (-l[imac]). [L., a little frog, a medicinal plant,
perhaps crowfoot, dim. of rana a frog; cf. raccare to roar.]
(Bot.) A genus of herbs, mostly with yellow flowers, including
crowfoot, buttercups, and the cultivated ranunculi (Ranunculus
Asiaticus, Ranunculus aconitifolius, etc.) in which the flowers
are double and of various colors. [1913 Webster]