Meanings
scabious1
comparative more scabious · superlative most scabious
- Having scabs.
- Of or pertaining to scabies.
scabious2
plural scabiouses
- Any of various herbaceous plants of the genus Scabiosa.
The grassy track, so gay with scabious and bedstraw, was snow-white at the bottom of its ruts.
1907, E.M. Forster, The Longest Journey, Part I, XII [Uniform ed., p. 128] - Any of several plants of the genus Knautia.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
scabious · adjective
- Latinscabiēs
- Medieval Latinscabiōsus“scabious”
- Englishscabious
From Medieval Latin scabiōsus (“scabious”), from Latin scabiēs (see scabies); partly reinterpretable as scab + -ious.
More words from Medieval Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →scabious · noun
- Medieval Latinscabiōsa
- Englishscabious
] From Medieval Latin scabiōsa, substantivized from scabiōsus (“scabious”), see Etymology 1; the name comes from their medical use in the Middle Ages to cure scabies and leprosy.
More words from Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French scabieuse
- scabieuseany plant of the genus Scabiosa
German Skabiose
- Skabioseany plant of the genus Scabiosa
Italian scabiosa
- scabiosaany plant of the genus Scabiosa
Polish driakiew, skabioza
- driakiewany plant of the genus Scabiosa
- skabiozaany plant of the genus Scabiosa
Turkish uyuz otu, kum otu
- uyuz otuany plant of the genus Scabiosa
- kum otuany plant of the genus Scabiosa
Cite this entry
scabious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scabious
“scabious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scabious. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “scabious,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/scabious.
Source: scabious on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.