leeuwenbek

Dutch

Etymology

From leeuw (“lion”) +‎ -en- +‎ bek (“animal's mouth”). The flowers can with some imagination be said to resemble a lion's gaping mouth, particularly when gently squeezed on the sides so that it opens up further. Compare German Löwenmaul (literally “lion's mouth”) and the etymology at English snapdragon.

Pronunciation
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Noun

leeuwenbek m (plural leeuwenbekken, diminutive leeuwenbekje n)

  1. A lion's mouth
  2. A snapdragon (any plant of the genus Antirrhinum); also used to refer to some other plants of the family Plantaginaceae with similar flowers

Derived terms

Further reading
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