columbine \KOL-uhm-bahyn, -bin\,
adjective:
1. dovelike; dove-colored.
2. of a dove.
For it is not possible to join serpentine wisdom with columbine innocency, except men know exactly all the conditions of the serpent: his baseness and going upon his belly, his volubility and lubricity, his envy and sting, and the rest; that is, all forms and natures of evil …
-- Francis Bacon, "The Advancement of Learning," 1605
Com forth now with thyne eyen columbyn. / How fairer been thy brestes than is wyn.
-- Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Merchant’s Tale,” The Canterbury Tales, 1387–1400
Columbine is derived from the Latin columba meaning "dove." The columbine flower was so named because of its resemblance to a cluster of doves.
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