n., pl., -nies.
Any of various garden plants of the genus Paeonia, having large, variously colored flowers with numerous stamens and several pistils.
[Middle English pione, from Old English pēonie and Anglo-Norman peonie, both from Medieval Latin peōnia, from Latin paeōnia, from Greek paiōniā, perhaps from Paiōn, Apollo, physician of the gods.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
