burnet
nounUK /ˈbɜːnɪt/ · US /ˈbɚnɪt/
Etymology From Middle English burnet, from Old French brunet, brunete (“brunette”). Doublet of brunette.
1
Usually Any of the herbs of genus Sanguisorba (syn. Poterium), including salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor), an herb used in salads and herbal teas.
- ASPARAGUS, cauliflowers, imperial Sileſia, royal and cabbage lettuces, burnet, purſlain, cucumbers, naſturtian flowers, peaſe and beans ſown in October, artichokes, ſcarlet ſtrawberries, and kidney beans.1767, A Lady [Hannah Glasse], The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Eaſy […] , page 326:
2
Usually Any of several species of moths of the family Zygaenidae, typically having black forewings with red spots.
- There are a few day-flying exceptions such as hummingbird hawk-moths, silver Ys, cinnabars, scarlet tigers and burnets but, in general, knowledge of moths lags behind that of butterflies.2015, Norman Maclean, A Less Green and Pleasant Land, page 223:
- Derived terms
- burnet bloodwort, burnet companion moth, burnet moth, burnet rose, burnet saxifrage, Canadian burnet, great burnet, lesser burnet, salad burnet, six-spot burnet, thorny burnet, transparent burnet, wild burnet