Heather Meaning
/ˈhɛðə/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn evergreen plant, Calluna vulgaris, with spiky leaves and small purple, pink, or white flowers.
nounA plant in the family Ericaceae.
Sentence Examples
Heather loves the way she lives her life.
Heather is a cute girl.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hills were covered in purple ____ blooming in late summer.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hills were covered in beautiful pink ____, which smelled wonderful in the fresh morning air.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English hather, hathir, from Old English *hǣddre and hǣþ (“heather”), cognate with Scots hedder, hadder, heddir (“heather”), Saterland Frisian Heede (“heather”), West Frisian heide (“heather”), Dutch heide (“heather”), German Low German Heide, Heid (“heather”), German Heide (“heather”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The cutting sides were gay with heather in bloom, and masses of dainty Scots bluebells, while patches of clear sky overhead were bringing life and colour to the sea."
— 1947 January and February, O. S. Nock, “"The Aberdonian" in Wartime”, in Railway Magazine, page 9:
"She struck his fancy - that pretty girl with the quaint name: sweet Heather Bell, as Mr. Travers always called her.
"The name was a fancy of her godfather, an eccentric bachelor," the lady explained. " She was the youngest of three daughters, and the other two were called, respectively, 'Lily' and 'Rose'. 'Call this one Heather,' said Mr. Stewart, who loved Scotland and her purple mountains, 'she will grow up like the heather, perhaps - strong, hardy, a wild flower, worth of a hundred of your garden rarities.'"
— 1867, J.H.Riddell, Far Above Rubies, Bernhard Tauchnitz, page 50:
""I like Hazel and Heather," Angel said, after a while. "They're both names of plants, so they sort of go with Rose."
"I don't have no plant, I got a little girl," Rose Rose said, smiling."
— 2001, John Irving, The Cider House Rules, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 506:
"“Psychotherapists are not immune to the same stereotypes that we all have, and I think they could become even more relevant for psychotherapists than for other professions [both medical and nonmedical], because they are embarking on this intimate, potentially long-term relationship with these [clients],” said Heather Kugelmass, a doctoral student in sociology at Princeton University. Kugelmass is the author of the study (PDF), which was published Wednesday in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior."
— 2016 June 1, Carina Storrs, “Therapists often discriminate against black and poor patients, study finds”, in CNN:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The hills were covered in purple ____ blooming in late summer.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The hills were covered in beautiful pink ____, which smelled wonderful in the fresh morning air.