I. ˈpimpə(r)ˌnel, -_nəl noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English pympernele, from Middle French pimprenelle, pimpinelle, from Late Latin pimpinella, a medicinal plant, perhaps irregular from Latin piper pepper — more at pepper
1. : salad burnet
2. : an herb of the genus Anagallis ; especially : scarlet pimpernel
II. noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: from The Scarlet Pimpernel, rescuer of aristocrats from the French revolutionists in the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) by Baroness Emmuska Orczy died 1947 English novelist
: a gallant dashing resourceful man given to remarkable feats of bravery and derring-do in liberating victims of tyranny and injustice
lined up solidly with the Pimpernels and with the persecuted — Hal Lehrman