dryas

D2R1Y4A1S1
/ˈdɹaɪ.əs//ˈdɹaɪ.æs/

noun

Any of several plants of the genus Dryas; the mountain avens.

Origintranslingual Dryas ← Latin Dryas ← Ancient Greek Δρῠᾰ́ς →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

dryas1

noundryas (plural dryases)

plural dryases

  1. Any of several plants of the genus Dryas; the mountain avens.
  2. One of two periods of cold and increased glaciation thousands of years before the present (Younger Dryas and Older Dryas).

Dryas2

nounDryas (uncountable)
  1. uncountablegeographyEither of two climatic stages of the late glacial period in Northern Europe in which plants of the genus Dryas were abundant

Origin

dryas · noun

  1. Ancient GreekΔρῠᾰ́ς
  2. LatinDryas
  3. translingualDryas
  4. Englishdryas

Borrowed from translingual Dryas for the plants, from both Latin Dryas and Ancient Greek Δρῠᾰ́ς (Drŭắs), derived from δρῦς (drûs, “tree, oak”). The second definition comes from the large quantity of pollen from the plant that is found in ice cores dating from these periods.

More words from translingual, Latin, Ancient Greek

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Dryas · noun

Named after the wildflower Dryas octopetala, fossils of which dated to approximately the Younger Dryas period are common in parts of Europe.

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Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with dryas

biasDariuspiousdaiseyasnyas
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Anagrams

yards
Cite this entry
APA

dryas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dryas

MLA

“dryas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dryas. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dryas,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dryas.

Source: dryas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.