a·bu·ti·lon (?-byo?ot?l-?n?)n. See flowering maple.[New Latin Abutilon, genus name, from Medieval Latin abutilon, a kind of plant used to treat wounds, from medieval scientific Arabic ‘ab???l?n, folk-etymological alteration of earlier ‘?b???l?n, ‘awb???l?n (taken as ‘ab?, father, source + Andalusian Arabic ?ayl?n, toad), ultimately from misreading of Syriac ‘arq??’?n, ‘arq???’?n, partly from Greek arkion, burdock (probably from arkein, to suffice, endure, from its tenacious burs ) and partly from Greek arktion, the plant Inula candida (burdock and Inula candida often being treated together in medieval botanical works).]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.abutilon (??bju?t?l?n) n (Plants) any shrub or herbaceous plant of the malvaceous genus Abutilon, such as the flowering maple, that have showy white, yellow, or red flowers[C18: New Latin from Arabic]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014flow?ering ma?ple n. any shrub of the genus Abutilon, of the mallow family, having large, bright-colored flowers. Also called abutilon. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.