How do YOU pronounce Celandine?

My husband and I pronounce it Se-lan-deyen (rhymes with valentine and clementine) since that is always how I have been taught to pronounce the plant name, however I have seen some name sites pronounce it Se-lan-deen. [name_m]How[/name_m] do you pronounce it?

Sel-an-[name_u]DEEN[/name_u]

I take my cue from [name_f]Cicely[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_m]Barker[/name_m], author and illustrator of The [name_f]Flower[/name_f] Fairies. “Celandine” rhymes with “shine.” :slight_smile:

Before the hawthorn leaves unfold,
Or buttercups put forth their gold,
By every sunny footpath shine
The stars of Lesser Celandine.

– [name_f]Nephele[/name_f] (thinking that it’s probably time to resurrect my [name_f]Flower[/name_f] Fairies anagrammed names topic…)

Ditto this. I used to love my flower fairies books :slight_smile:

[name_f]Lovely[/name_f]! Thanks for the poem.

I love Celandine! :slight_smile: I pronounce it with -[name_u]DEEN[/name_u].

You’re very welcome! The poem is titled “Song of the Celandine [name_f]Fairy[/name_f]” by [name_f]Cicely[/name_f] [name_f]Mary[/name_f] [name_m]Barker[/name_m].

You can see an image of the Celandine [name_f]Fairy[/name_f] by clicking on the link below:

http://prints.encore-editions.com/0/500/cicely-mary-barker-flower-fairies-of-the-spring-the-celandine-fairy.jpg

– [name_f]Nephele[/name_f]

It’s always been a [name_m]French[/name_m] name to me so it’s “deen”.

I would have said -deen, but I’m not familiar with the poem others have mentioned. I’m sure I would have pronounced it differently had I been. It’s lovely either way. :slight_smile:

[name_f]Nephele[/name_f] - Thank you for sharing that illustration! So sweet, it takes my breath away.

I’d say sell-an-deen too. I’ve never heard of the poem either; beautiful poem by the way! Keep in mind though that poets will often pronounce things slightly differently to fit the meter or rhyme scheme. (An example of that is in As You Like It when [name_m]Orlando[/name_m], writing those verses on the scrolls, rhymes “[name_f]Rosalind[/name_f]” with “hind”- the second syllable sounded like the word “lined” as in lined paper.)

Glad you enjoyed the poem. You should do yourself a treat and check out all of Cicely Mary Barker’s famous Flower Fairies books. She started publishing them in the 1920s. Her artwork is outstanding, her poems endearing, and the books are classics.

While “Celandine” can actually be pronounced either way, the more accepted pronunciation (listed first in dictionaries) is the one that rhymes with the word “shine.” Cicely Mary Barker wasn’t taking liberties with the English language in order to get her verse to rhyme. :slight_smile:

http://www.forvo.com/word/celandine/

Turn on your speakers and click on the blue triangle symbol next to the word “Pronunciation” in each of the two examples given. :slight_smile:

– Nephele