Lexic.us

Definition of Gentian

1. Noun. Any of various plants of the family Gentianaceae especially the genera Gentiana and Gentianella and Gentianopsis.

Definition of Gentian

1. n. Any one of a genus (Gentiana) of herbaceous plants with opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla, usually blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. See Illust. of Capsule.

Definition of Gentian

1. Noun. Any of various herbs of the family ''Gentianaceae'' found in temperate and mountainous regions with violet or blue flowers. ¹

2. Noun. The dried roots and rhizome of a European gentian, ''Gentiana lutea'', used as a tonic. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Gentian

1. a flowering plant [n -S]

Medical Definition of Gentian

1. Any one of a genus (Gentiana) of herbaceous plants with opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla, usually blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. Many species are found on the highest mountains of Europe, Asia, and America, and some are prized for their beauty, as the Alpine (Gentiana verna, Bavarica, and excisa), and the American fringed gentians (G. Crinita and G. Detonsa). Several are used as tonics, especially the bitter roots of Gentiana lutea, the officinal gentian of the pharmacopoeias. Horse gentian, fever root. Yellow gentian, the officinal gentian (Gentiana lutea). See Bitterwort. Origin: OE. Genciane, F. Gentiane, L. Gentiana, fr. Gentius, an Illyrian king, said to have discovered its properties. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Gentian

Literary usage of Gentian

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Century Dictionary: An Encyclopedic Lexicon of the English Language by William Dwight Whitney (1889)
"Of or belonging to a gens or clan; of the same clan or family. gentian; said to have been ... The more common American gentians are the fringed gentian (G. ..."

2. Minnesota Plant Life by Conway MacMillan (1899)
"The gentian family includes in Minnesota about ten species of gentian, ... The smaller fringed gentian has leaves slender at the base and narrower, ..."

3. Arrows of the Chace: Being a Collection of Scattered Letters Published by John Ruskin (1880)
"If your correspondent 'YLY' will take a little trouble in inquiring into the history of the gentian, he will find that, as is the case with most other ..."

4. Pharmaceutical Journal by Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1853)
"The liquid has now lost the taste of gentian, and possesses a strength of 19i° ... The taste is not disagreeable, but the gentian odour is very perceptible. ..."

5. A Universal formulary: Containing the Methods of Preparing and Administering by Robert Eglesfeld Griffith (1866)
"Infusion of gentian, six fl. ounces. Mix. A wineglassful, three times a-day, ... Put the gentian in a displacement apparatus, and make a strung infusion; ..."

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