chrysanthemum

IPA/krɪˈzænθəməm/
KK[krɪsˈænθəməm]IPA/krɪˈzænθəməm/

chrysanthemum — noun

  • chrysanthemumsingular
  • chrysanthemumsplural

1. a leafy garden plant that produces showy round flower heads in many colours, gro

1.nounC1
Definition

a leafy garden plant that produces showy round flower heads in many colours, grown in pots or beds and popular in late autumn displays.

Example

Mayumi planted a row of chrysanthemums along the front path before winter arrived.

countable: a row of chrysanthemums

The school garden filled one bed with yellow chrysanthemums for the autumn festival.

collocation: yellow / white / pink chrysanthemums

Common collocations
  • plant chrysanthemums
  • grow chrysanthemums
  • potted chrysanthemums
  • a row of chrysanthemums
Synonyms
  • mum

    informal short form, very common in everyday speech and gardening catalogues

  • chrysanth

    rare British informal abbreviation

Usage Note

Subject is usually a gardener or a setting; the plural form often names the species rather than specific individual plants.

Common Mistakes

I bought a chrysanthemum tree.
I bought a chrysanthemum plant.
chrysanthemums are herbaceous plants, not trees.

2. the round, full bloom of the chrysanthemum plant, often cut and arranged in bouq

2.nounC1
Definition

the round, full bloom of the chrysanthemum plant, often cut and arranged in bouquets or used at funerals and seasonal ceremonies.

Example

Gabriela laid a single white chrysanthemum on her grandfather's grave.

collocation: a single / white chrysanthemum

The florist tied a bunch of red chrysanthemums with a brown ribbon.

collocation: a bunch of chrysanthemums

Common collocations
  • a bouquet of chrysanthemums
  • white chrysanthemums
  • lay a chrysanthemum
Synonyms
  • mum

    informal short form used for the cut flower as well as the plant

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense names the bloom you cut and display, while sense 1 names the whole living plant. The flower is the part most often given as a gift in East Asia.

Common Mistakes

She picked a chrysanthemum from the supermarket shelf.
She picked up a chrysanthemum from the supermarket shelf.
'picked' alone suggests cutting from a plant.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

Chrysanthemum is the full formal name for the rounded autumn bloom, used in plant catalogues, science writing, and ceremonial contexts; in everyday English most speakers shorten it to mum, especially when buying potted plants in supermarkets. Daisy refers to a smaller, simpler flower with a yellow centre and white petals — visually quite different though both belong to the same family. Aster covers a separate group of star-shaped autumn flowers that share the same bloom season but have narrower, pointed petals rather than the chrysanthemum's dense layered head. When choosing between these words in writing: use chrysanthemum for cultural or ceremonial settings (a chrysanthemum laid at a grave; the imperial chrysanthemum crest), and mum for relaxed gardening or shopping talk.

chrysanthemum ↗mum ↗daisy ↗aster

Common collocations

Nouns

  • chrysanthemum petals
  • chrysanthemum tea
  • chrysanthemum festival

Phrases

  • plant chrysanthemums
  • grow chrysanthemums
  • white chrysanthemums for mourning

Prepositions

  • a bunch of chrysanthemums
  • a bouquet of chrysanthemums

Etymology

Ancient GreekLatinEnglish

Borrowed into English in the late 1500s from Latin chrysanthemum, itself taken from Ancient Greek khrysanthemon, meaning literally 'golden flower' — from khrysos 'gold' and anthemon 'flower'. The Greek name referred to the bright yellow blooms of the wild type that grew around the Mediterranean. The plant was already a treasured ornamental in China by then, and the English word travelled along with the cultivated varieties brought west through trade.