hollyhock

Definition

Any of several flowering plants of the genus Alcea in the Malvaceae family.

Etymology

From Middle English holihocke, holyhokke, holihoc, from holi (“holy”) + hocke, hokke, hoc (“mallow”) (from Old English hoc (“marsh mallow”). The modern hollyhock was probably unknown in England until the 15th century, so usage before then no doubt referred to some other mallow. Apparently so called for being brought from the Holy Land; compare an old name for it in Medieval Latin cauli Sancti Cuthberti (“St. Cuthbert's cole”).

Example Sentences

• "No cottage in Coughton boasted taller hollyhocks, nor finer Michaelmas daisies in the autumn than Dame Magdalen’s almshouses; […]"