petunia

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Petunia, from (now obsolete) French pétun (“tobacco”), from Old Tupi petyma (“tobacco”).^[1]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /pəˈtʲuːni.ə/
• (Standard Southern British) IPA^(key): /pəˈtʲuːnjə/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /pəˈtʃuːnjə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /pəˈtuːniə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /pəˈtuːnjə/
• Hyphenation: pe‧tu‧ni‧a

petunia (plural petunias)

2. Any of the flowering plants of genus Petunia, of which most garden varieties are hybrids.
   • 2002, Larry Hodgson, Annuals for Every Purpose, page 57:

     Usually petunias are quite pest free, but aphids are occasional problems.

   • 2003, Norman Winter, Tough-As-Nails Flowers for the South, page 39:

     The small purple petunias are produced in profusion and without ceasing during the entire season.

   • 2013, Jan Riggenbach, Your Midwest Garden: An Owner's Manual, page 18:

     Closely related calibrachoas, often called miniature petunias, offer dainty petunia-like blossoms that are perfect for planting in pots.
     No matter what type of petunias you choose, they all prefer plenty of sun.

3. A dark purple colour, like that of some petunia flowers.

   petunia:  

4. (slang) (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) A homosexual.

petunia (not comparable)

1. Of a dark purple colour, like that of some petunia flowers.

• Appendix:Colors

• Petunia in the 1905 edition of the New International Encyclopedia.

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Petunia, from (now obsolete) French pétun (“tobacco”), from Old Tupi petyma (“tobacco”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈpetuniɑ/, [ˈpe̞t̪uˌniɑ̝]
• Rhymes: -iɑ
• Syllabification^(key): pe‧tu‧ni‧a
• Hyphenation^(key): pe‧tu‧nia

petunia

2. petunia

• “petunia”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[1] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 3 July 2023

• taipuen

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Petunia, from (now obsolete) French pétun (“tobacco”), from Old Tupi petyma (“tobacco”).

• IPA^(key): /peˈtu.nja/
• Rhymes: -unja
• Hyphenation: pe‧tù‧nia

petunia f (plural petunie)

2. petunia (flower)

• petunia in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)
• petunia in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
• petunia in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

• puniate

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Petunia, from (now obsolete) French pétun (“tobacco”), from Old Tupi petyma (“tobacco”).

petunia m (definite singular petuniaen, indefinite plural petuniaer or petunia, definite plural petuniaene)

2. petunia

• “petunia” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “petunia” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Petunia, from (now obsolete) French pétun (“tobacco”), from Old Tupi petyma (“tobacco”).

petunia m (definite singular petuniaen, indefinite plural petuniaer or petuniaar, definite plural petuniaene or petuniaane)

2. petunia

• “petunia” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “etydate: WSJP says "1900, NKJP", but no such concordance in PELCRA”)

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Petunia, from (now obsolete) French pétun (“tobacco”), from Old Tupi petyma (“tobacco”).

• IPA^(key): /pɛˈtuɲ.ja/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uɲja
• Syllabification: pe‧tun‧ia

petunia f

2. petunia (any plant of the genus Petunia)

• petunia in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• petunia in Polish dictionaries at PWN
• “petunia”, in Słownik gramatyczny języka polskiego [Grammatical Dictionary of Polish], 2022

petunia

1. definite nominative/accusative singular of petunie

Learned borrowing from taxonomic name Petunia.

• IPA^(key): /peˈtunja/ [peˈt̪u.nja]
• Rhymes: -unja
• Syllabification: pe‧tu‧nia

petunia f (plural petunias)

2. petunia

• “petunia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025