any of various caryophyllaceous plants of the genera Silene and Lychnis, having red, pink, or white flowers
See also bladder campion
Word origin
C16: probably from campion, obsolete variant of champion, perhaps so called because originally applied to Lychnis coronaria, the leaves of which were used to crown athletic champions
Campion in British English
(ˈkæmpɪən)
noun
1.
Saint Edmund. 1540–81, English Jesuit martyr. He joined the Jesuits in 1573 and returned to England (1580) as a missionary. He was charged with treason and hanged
2.
Jane. born 1954, New Zealand film director and screenwriter: her films include An Angel at My Table (1990), The Piano (1993), Holy Smoke (1999), In the Cut (2003), and Bright Star (2009)
3.
Thomas. 1567–1620, English poet and musician, noted particularly for his songs for the lute
Campion in American English
(ˈkæmpiən)
Thomas1567-1620; Eng. poet & composer of songs
campion in American English
(ˈkæmpiən)
noun
any of various flowering plants (genera Lychnis and Silene) of the pink family, with white, red, or pink flowers
Word origin
prob. use of obs. campion < OFr, lit., champion (because used for garlands)
Examples of 'campion' in a sentence
campion
There were wild flowers here and there: pink campion, purple nightshade, white deadnettle, yellow aconite.
Amanda Hemingway THE GREENSTONE GRAIL: THE SANGREAL TRILOGY ONE (2004)
All related terms of 'campion'
moss campion
a mat-forming campion , Silene acaulis, having low-growing pink flowers and found in Arctic areas and mountains of Eurasia and North America
rose campion
a European caryophyllaceous plant, Lychnis coronaria , widely cultivated for its pink flowers. Its stems and leaves are covered with white woolly down
white campion
See evening campion
bladder campion
a European caryophyllaceous plant, Silene vulgaris , having white flowers with an inflated calyx
evening campion
a sticky , hairy European weed , Silene alba , of the pink family, having night-blooming, fragrant flowers, the male and female of which grow on separate plants