Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - daphne

 noun  Etymology: Latin, from Greek Daphne  Date: 15th century a nymph in Greek mythology who is transformed into a laurel tree to escape the pursuing Apollo DAPHNE  noun  Etymology: New Latin, genus name, from Latin, laurel, from Greek daphne  Date: circa 1841 any of a genus (Daphne) of Eurasian shrubs of the mezereon family with apetalous flowers whose colored calyx resembles a corolla