n. An azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides) of the eastern United States, having pink or purple flowers that bloom before the leaves appear. [From earlier American regional English (New York and other areas of colonial Dutch settlement) Pinkster, Pinxter, Whitsuntide, from obsolete Dutch Pinxter, from Middle Dutch, variant of Pinxten, originally dative plural of Pinxte, Pentecost (the dative form being generalized since it was used more frequently than the nominative, as in such phrases as te Pinxten, in Whitsuntide), from Late Latin pentēcostē, from Greek pentēkostē; see PENTECOST.] |
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