hydrangea

noun

hy·​dran·​gea hī-ˈdrān-jə 

: any of a genus (Hydrangea) of mostly shrubs having opposite leaves and showy clusters of usually sterile white, pink, or bluish flowers that is either placed in the saxifrage family or the hydrangea family (Hydrangeaceae)

Examples of hydrangea in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Keep scrolling to shop more kitchen essentials in the new hydrangea color from Beautiful by Drew Barrymore, starting at $30. —Megan Schaltegger, People.com, 21 Feb. 2025

The guest house, which looks onto the pool, is built with a trellis armature on one face of the building, where hydrangea vines are expected to grow over the coming years. —David Foxley, Architectural Digest, 10 Jan. 2025

This year, the stunning centerpieces feature a classic crowd-pleaser: vibrant Endless Summer hydrangeas. —Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 3 Feb. 2025

Most summer-blooming shrubs, such as Annabelle hydrangea and rose-of-Sharon, wait until spring to develop their flower buds, so their bloom is not affected by winter pruning. —Beth Botts, Chicago Tribune, 26 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, genus name, from Greek hydr- hydr- + New Latin -angēa, feminine derivative from Greek angeîon "vessel, container" — more at angio-

Note: The genus name dates from linnaeus's Species plantarum, vol. 1 (1753), p. 397. Linnaeus took the name from Jan Frederik Gronovius and John Clayton's Flora Virginica, pars prima (Leiden, 1739), p. 50. Since the 19th century the name Hydrangea, taken to mean "water vessel," is said to refer to the "cup-like form of the seed-capsule" (hence Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, 1899). However, Gronovius, presumably the immediate author of the text, gives no indication of the name's significance. He describes the fruit of Hydrangea arborescens as "a small two-chambered vessel filled with tiny seeds, crowned with two small threads or little horns bent backward" ("… vasculo parvo bicapsulari seminibus minutissimis repleto, duobus parvis filamentis seu corniculis recurvis cornato"). This accords well with pictures of the plant's small seed capsules, though it takes some imagination to see an individual capsule as a water vessel.

First Known Use

circa 1753, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hydrangea

noun

hy·​dran·​gea hī-ˈdrān-jə 

: any of a genus of shrubby plants with showy clusters of usually sterile white, pink, or bluish flowers

Medical Definition

hydrangea

noun

hy·​dran·​gea hī-ˈdrān-jə 

1

capitalized : a large genus of widely distributed shrubs and one woody vine (family Saxifragaceae) with opposite leaves and showy clusters of usually sterile white, pink, or bluish flowers

2

: any plant of the genus Hydrangea

3

: the dried rhizome and roots of the wild plant of the genus Hydrangea (H. arborescens) formerly used in pharmacy as a diuretic