n.
Variant: also bou · gain · vil · laea
Pronunciation: ˌ bü-g ə n- ' vil-y ə , ˌ b ō -, ˌ bu ̇ -, - ' v ē - ə
Function: noun
Etymology: New Latin, from Louis Antoine de Bougainville
Date: 1849
: any of a genus ( Bougainvillaea ) of the four-o'clock family of ornamental tropical American woody vines and shrubs with brilliant purple or red floral bracts