TREFOIL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does trefoil mean? 

• TREFOIL (noun)
  The noun TREFOIL has 3 senses:

1. any of several Old World herbs of the genus Medicago having small flowers and trifoliate compound leaves

2. a plant of the genus Trifolium

3. an architectural ornament in the form of three arcs arranged in a circle

  Familiarity information: TREFOIL used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TREFOIL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of several Old World herbs of the genus Medicago having small flowers and trifoliate compound leaves

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

medic; medick; trefoil

Hypernyms ("trefoil" is a kind of...):

herb; herbaceous plant (a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "trefoil"):

Medicago arborea; moon trefoil (evergreen shrub of southern European highlands having downy foliage and a succession of yellow flowers throughout the summer followed by curious snail-shaped pods)

Medicago falcata; sickle alfalfa; sickle lucerne; sickle medick (European medic naturalized in North America having yellow flowers and sickle-shaped pods)

Calvary clover; Medicago echinus; Medicago intertexta (an annual of the Mediterranean area having spiny seed pods and leaves with dark spots)

black medick; hop clover; Medicago lupulina; nonesuch clover; yellow trefoil (prostrate European herb with small yellow flowers and curved black pods; naturalized in North America)

alfalfa; lucerne; Medicago sativa (important European leguminous forage plant with trifoliate leaves and blue-violet flowers grown widely as a pasture and hay crop)

Holonyms ("trefoil" is a member of...):

genus Medicago; Medicago (a genus of herbs that resemble clover)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A plant of the genus Trifolium

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

clover; trefoil

Hypernyms ("trefoil" is a kind of...):

herb; herbaceous plant (a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "trefoil"):

alpine clover; Trifolium alpinum (European mountain clover with fragrant usually pink flowers)

hop clover; lesser yellow trefoil; shamrock; Trifolium dubium (clover native to Ireland with yellowish flowers; often considered the true or original shamrock)

crimson clover; Italian clover; Trifolium incarnatum (southern European annual with spiky heads of crimson flower; extensively cultivated in United States for forage)

purple clover; red clover; Trifolium pratense (erect to decumbent short-lived perennial having red-purple to pink flowers; the most commonly grown forage clover)

buffalo clover; Trifolium reflexum; Trifolium stoloniferum (clover of western United States)

dutch clover; shamrock; Trifolium repens; white clover (creeping European clover having white to pink flowers and bright green leaves; naturalized in United States; widely grown for forage)

Holonyms ("trefoil" is a member of...):

genus Trifolium; Trifolium (any leguminous plant having leaves divided into three leaflets)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An architectural ornament in the form of three arcs arranged in a circle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("trefoil" is a kind of...):

architectural ornament ((architecture) something added to a building to improve its appearance)

 Context examples 

Epithelial continuity depends on a family of small abundant secreted proteins, the trefoil factors (TFFs).

(Mucosal Healing Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

With oral rinsing, human trefoil factor 1-secreting Lactococcus lactis AG013 may secrete and deliver hTFF1 to oral mucosal tissue, protecting or promoting the healing of damaged oral mucosa. hTFF1, a peptide belonging to the Trefoil factors family (TFF), is normally secreted by mucous epithelia and is involved in protecting mucosal tissue and maintaining mucosal surface integrity.

(Human Trefoil Factor 1-Secreting Lactococcus lactis AG013, NCI Thesaurus)

The trefoil factor (TFF) family comprises the gastric peptides pS2/TFF1 and spasmolytic peptide (SP)/TFF2, and the intestinal trefoil factor (ITF)/TFF3.

(Mucosal Healing Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Serine phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs)/mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) 1 and 2 is central to trefoil factor-mediated signaling, lying downstream of EGFR activation and possibly FAK activation (through recruitment of GRB2 and SOS).

(Mucosal Healing Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)