Ra*nun"cu*lus (r&adot;*nŭ&nsm;"k&usl;*lŭs), n.; pl. E. Ranunculuses (- &ebreve;z), L. Ranunculi (-lī). [L., a little frog, a medicinal plant, perhaps crowfoot, dim. of rana a frog; cf. raccare to roar.] (Bot.) A genus of herbs, mostly with yellow flowers, including crowfoot, buttercups, and the cultivated ranunculi (R. Asiaticus, R. aconitifolius, etc.) in which the flowers are double and of various colors.