Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Centaurea \Cen`tau*re"a\, n. [NL. See {Centaury}.] (Bot.)
   A large genus of composite plants, related to the thistles
   and including the cornflower or bluebottle ({Centaurea
   Cyanus}) and the star thistle ({C. Calcitrapa}).