What is "shamrock"

Shamrock \Sham"rock\, n. [L. seamrog, seamar, trefoil, white clover, white honeysuckle; akin to Gael. seamrag.] (Bot.) A trifoliate plant used as a national emblem by the Irish. The legend is that St. Patrick once plucked a leaf of it for use in illustrating the doctrine of the trinity.

Note: The original plant was probably a kind of wood sorrel ( Oxalis Acetocella); but now the name is given to the white clover ( Trifolium repens), and the black medic ( Medicago lupulina).

1570s, from Irish seamrog, diminutive of seamar "clover." Compare Gaelic seamrag "trefoil."

n. 1 The trefoil leaf of any small clover, especially ''Trifolium repens'', or such a leaf from a clover-like plant. 2 Any of several small plants, forms of clover, with trefoil leaves, especially ''Trifolium repens''.

1. n. creeping European clover having white to pink flowers and bright green leaves; naturalized in United States; widely grown for forage [syn: white clover, dutch clover, Trifolium repens]

2. Eurasian plant with heart-shaped trifoliate leaves and white pink- or purple-veined flowers [syn: common wood sorrel, cuckoo bread, Oxalis acetosella]

3. clover native to Ireland with yellowish flowers; often considered the true or original shamrock [syn: hop clover, lesser yellow trefoil, Trifolium dubium]

A shamrock is a young sprig of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. Saint Patrick, Ireland's patron saint, is said to have used it as a metaphor for the Christian Holy Trinity. The name shamrock comes from Irish , which is the diminutive of the Irish word for clover () and means simply "little clover" or "young clover".

Shamrock usually refers to either the species (lesser clover, Irish: ) or (white clover, Irish: ). However, other three-leaved plants—such as , , and —are sometimes called shamrocks or clovers. The shamrock was traditionally used for its medicinal properties and was a popular motif in Victorian times.

Shamrock or Shamrocks may refer to:

Shamrock was the fifth single released by the Japanese rock band, Uverworld. It was released on August 2, 2006. The limited pressing of the single has a DVD containing the video digest of their live performance from their Timeless Tour @ Shibuya-AX. It reached number six on the Oricon charts and sold approximately 97,091 copies. It was used as the drama Dance Drill's theme song.

The full version of the ringtone has reached platinum status in February 2010 since its download started on August 2, 2006.

Shamrock was a racing yacht built in 1898 that was the unsuccessful Irish challenger for the 1899 America's Cup against the United States defender, Columbia.

Shamrock is a Filipino alternative/ pop rock band originating from Manila, Philippines.

Shamrock is a fictional comic book superheroine appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

The Shamrock was a car produced in Ireland for a brief period during the late 1950s.

The business was established by an American businessman, James F. Conway and William K Curtis in Tralee, Co. Kerry, but was moved to Castleblayney, Co. Monaghan, before production began. The aim was to produce a large luxury car model for export to the US market.

Shortly after production began, however, design flaws became apparent. Although the car was big and heavy, it used a relatively small Austin A55 1.5 litre engine, which limited performance. The A55 also provided the transmission and suspension. Another problem was that the rear wheels were shrouded by body panels and a rear wheel could not be removed (for puncture repair for example) without dropping its axle. The car used fibreglass body panels and was styled as a four seat, two door, coupé with removable hardtop. The wheelbase was 98 inches (2487 mm). All cars were painted white although one in the USA has been repainted candy green

Production of up to 10,000 cars a year was talked about but as few as ten complete cars were produced during the six months before production ceased. After the factory closed, the unused parts were dumped into the local lake, Lough Muckno by a local cattle dealer Darren Connolly, who briefly sold the parts at Jonesbourgh market in the late 90s along with replica henley tops. A keen car collector Connolly loved the protestant look of the car and had big plans to put the car into reproduction, until his diesel empire collapsed in the recession.

The car is now very rare, and only eight are believed to be still in existence: five in Ireland — one each in Killarney, Castleblayney, and Wexford and two in Drogheda — and three in the USA, one in Seattle and two in California.

Frview.jpg|Front view Shamrock front left.jpg|Front left view Shamrock interior.jpg|shamrock interior Rearview.jpg|Rear