COWSLIP
Wild Word Friday!
In the spring, if you drive out into the country, you may see them in the ditches and the fields. I’m talking about those large bunches of showy yellow flowers that we call marsh marigolds or COWSLIPS. I’m told that in the British Isles COWSLIPS are a similar flower to those we see in the US and Canada, but not quite the same thing. When Europeans settled in North America they brought the name COWSLIP with them. Nonetheless, wherever you are, COWSLIPS are a low-growing, round clump of lovely yellow flowers.
I’m just guessing but it seems to me that the people who first came up with the name COWSLIP definitely had a sense of humor. Today, we call their language Old English. They named their yellow pasture flowers for another pasture phenomenon. Cu (long U) means cow and slyppe means pulp or paste. Cuslyppe. Cow dung.
Evidently the Old English folks weren’t very sentimental about pretty flowers, but I am, which is maybe why I usually say marsh marigold!
Q4U: What is your favorite spring flower?
Blessings,
Sue
that was funny to read Sue.. cowslip.. a slip of the cow’s behind… 🙂
My favourite spring flower is the daisy.. it always reminds me of when I was a little girl making a daisy chain and put it on my head.
I now teach my little girl to make a daisy chain and put it on my head.. hopefully later on she will have lovely memories of the daisy flower.
I wish I knew how to weave daisy chains! What a great thing to teach your children.
We have cowslips over here in West and they are scatted everywhere in the paddocks all you can see is yellow patch’s.Another loverly flower is pink just like cowslip but I dont know the name. When I was young!! I remember making chain of heart and braclets.
I’ve never seen the pink flower that looks like a cowslip. They sound beautiful!