different between tansy vs pansy

English

Etymology

From Old French tanesie, tanoisie, tanasie, tanaisie, from Medieval Latin tanacetum, atanacetum, attested since the 8th century, of obscure origin, speculated from Ancient Greek ???????? (athanasía, “immortality”) owing to hallucinations from the thujone in the plant, else from taenia (“tapeworm”) due to its primary use against parasites by which reason it is called in Arabic ???????? ??????? (?aš?ša ad-d?d, literally “worm herb”), otherwise a Berber borrowing like tagetes.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?tanzi/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?tæn.zi/

Noun

tansy (countable and uncountable, plural tansies)

1. A herbaceous plant with yellow flowers, of the genus Tanacetum, especially Tanacetum vulgare.
   • 1913, DH Lawrence, Sons and Lovers, Penguin 2006, p. 365:

     The sunny afternoon was there, like another land. By the path grew tansy and little trees.

2. (uncountable, obsolete) A dish common in the seventeenth century, made of eggs, sugar, rose water, cream, and the juice of herbs (including tansy), baked with butter in a shallow dish. "Originally flavoured with tansy, but by Pepys's time generally having spinach as its predominant flavouring."
   • 1662, Diary of Samuel Pepys:

     I had a pretty dinner for them; viz., a brace of stewed carps, six roasted chickens, and a jowle of salmon, hot, for the first course; a tanzy and two neats' tongues, and cheese the second; and were very merry all the afternoon, talking and singing and piping upon the flageolette.

Derived terms

• double tansy
• tansy mustard (Descurainia sophia)

Translations

See also

• pennyroyal
• savin

References

Anagrams

• -nasty, Ansty, Nasty, Santy, Yants, antsy, nasty

English

Etymology

From Middle French pensée (“thought”), as the plant resembles someone that is in deep thought, with a lowered head.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?pæn.zi/

Noun

pansy (plural pansies)

1. A cultivated flowering plant, derived by hybridization within species Viola tricolor.
2. A deep purple colour, like that of the pansy.

3. Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Junonia. Also called arguses.
4. (derogatory, colloquial) A timid, weak man or boy; a wuss.
5. (derogatory, colloquial, dated) A male homosexual, especially one who is effeminate.

Synonyms

• (male homosexual): friend of Dorothy, omi-palone; see also Thesaurus:male homosexual
• (effeminate man): mama's boy, sissy; see also Thesaurus:effeminate man
• (timid man or boy): mama's boy, nancy boy, sissy; see also Thesaurus:milksop

Translations

Adjective

pansy (not comparable)

1. Wimpy; spineless; feeble.
2. Of a deep purple colour, like that of the pansy.

Derived terms

• wild pansy
• pansified
• pansification

Related terms

• pensive
• poise
• peso

Translations

Verb

pansy (third-person singular simple present pansies, present participle pansying, simple past and past participle pansied)

1. (slang, intransitive, usually with "around" or "about") To mess about; to fail to get things done.

See also

• heartsease
• Johnny-jump-up
• Appendix:Colors