columbine
col·um·bine/ˈkɑləmˌbaɪn/noun
columbine is spelled C-O-L-U-M-B-I-N-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables (col·um·bine). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, columbine means “Any plant of the genus Aquilegia, having distinctive bell-shaped flowers with spurs on each petal” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of columbine is columbines.
How many letters and syllables are in columbine?
| Letters | 9: C-O-L-U-M-B-I-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: col·um·bine |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 32,393rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is columbine?
Columbine appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 32,393rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce columbine?
- UK /ˈkɒləmˌbaɪn/
- US /ˈkɑləmˌbaɪn/
As an adjective (“Pertaining to a dove or pigeon”): /kəˈlʌm.baɪn/, /ˈkɒləmˌbaɪn/, /kəˈlʌm.baɪn/.
Columbine has 3 syllables, split col·um·bine in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-columbine.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of columbine
- columbines plural
- more columbine comparative
- most columbine superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does columbine mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any plant of the genus Aquilegia, having distinctive bell-shaped flowers with spurs on each petal.
noun
- 1
slangAn incident in which someone shoots multiple people at a school.
adjective
- 1
archaicPertaining to a dove or pigeon.
Near-synonyms: columboid, peristeronic
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Columbine in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense any plant of the genus Aquilegia:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does columbine come from?
From the Latin colombina herba (“dove-like plant”), the flower being likened to five clustered pigeons.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).