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py·ra·can·tha

(pī′rə-kănthə)

Any of various thorny shrubs of the genus Pyracantha in the rose family, native to Asia and often cultivated for their evergreen foliage and showy reddish or orange berries. Also called firethorn.

[New Latin Pyracantha, genus name, from Latin pyracantha, a shrub, from Greek purakantha : pūr, fire; see PYRE + akantha, thorn.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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