Meanings
plural hollyhocks
- Any of several flowering plants of the genus Alcea in the Malvaceae family.
No cottage in Coughton boasted taller hollyhocks, nor finer Michaelmas daisies in the autumn than Dame Magdalen’s almshouses; […]
1842, [Katherine] Thomson, chapter X, in Widows and Widowers. A Romance of Real Life., volume II, London: Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 227–228
Synonyms & antonyms
nounany of various plants of the genus Althaea; similar to but having smaller flowers than genus Alcea
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishhoc“marsh mallow”
- Middle Englishholihocke
- Englishhollyhock
From Middle English holihocke, holyhokke, holihoc, from holi (“holy”) + hocke, hokke, hoc (“mallow”) (from Old English hoc (“marsh mallow”). The modern hollyhock was probably unknown in England until the 15th century, so usage before then no doubt referred to some other mallow. Apparently so called for being brought from the Holy Land; compare an old name for it in Medieval Latin cauli Sancti Cuthberti (“St. Cuthbert's cole”).
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian ружа
- ружа (ruža)plant
Catalan malva reial
- malva reialplant
Chinese Mandarin 蜀葵
- 蜀葵 (shǔkuí)plant
Czech topolovka
- topolovkaplant
Dutch stokroos
- stokroosplant
Esperanto alceo
- alceoplant
Finnish salkoruusu
- salkoruusuplant
French rose trémière
- rose trémièreplant
German Stockrose, Herbstrose
- Stockroseplant
- Herbstroseplant
- Rosenmalveplant
Irish leamhach beannaithe
- leamhach beannaitheplant
Italian malvarosa, malvone
- malvarosaplant
- malvoneplant
Japanese 葵
- 葵 (aoi)plant
Korean 접시꽃
- 접시꽃 (jeopsikkot)plant
Norwegian Bokmål stokkrose
- stokkroseplant
Polish malwa
- malwaplant
Portuguese malva-rosa
- malva-rosaplant
Romanian nalbă, nalbă-de-grădină
- nalbăplant
- nalbă-de-grădinăplant
Russian штокро́за, ма́льва
- штокро́за (štokróza)plant
- ма́льва (málʹva)plant
Spanish malva real, malva arbórea
- malva realplant
- malva arbóreaplant
- malva róseaplant
- malva locaplant
- malvarrosaplant
Swedish stockros
- stockrosplant
Turkish hatmi, ağaçküpesi
- hatmiplant
- ağaçküpesiplant
Ukrainian ма́льва
- ма́льва (málʹva)plant
Welsh hocys bendigaid
- hocys bendigaidplant
Cite this entry
hollyhock. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hollyhock
“hollyhock.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hollyhock. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hollyhock,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hollyhock.
Source: hollyhock on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.