snapdragon

Meaning

1. (countable) Any plant of the genus Antirrhinum, with showy yellow, white or red flowers.
2. (uncountable) A game in which raisins are snatched from a vessel containing burning brandy, and eaten; the substance snatched and eaten during the playing of the game; the vessel used for the game.

Synonyms

doggie

doggy

lapdog

pup

puppy

whelp

Mediterranean snapdragon

yellow twining snapdragon

dragon flower

Translations

Löwenmaul

leeuwenbek

gueule-de-loup

muflier

bocca di leone

aslanağzı

boca de dragón

Löwenmäulchen

Antirrhinum

σκυλάκι

Löwenmäuler

boca-de-leão

erva-bezerra

boca-de-lobo

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈsnæpdɹæɡən/

Etymology

Cognate with Dutch: leeuwenbek

Cognate with German: Löwenmaul

In summary

(1570s) From snap + dragon, from a fancied resemblance, especially by playing children that the flower is a dragon that opens its "mouth" when squeezed on the sides. Compare for this sense the etymology of Dutch leeuwenbek (“snapdragon”, literally “lion's mouth”) and German Löwenmaul. An ancient name was Old English hundeshéafod (literally “dog's head”). For the parlour game sense, the 1704 Swift quotation is apparently the earliest appearance in print.
Other animal-based names for the flower are common; compare Greek σκυλάκι (skyláki, literally “puppy”) and Finnish leijonankita (literally “lion's mouth”).