Definition of Lilac

1. Noun. Any of various plants of the genus Syringa having large panicles of usually fragrant flowers.


2. Adjective. Of a pale purple color.
Exact synonyms: Lavender, Lilac-colored
Similar to: Chromatic

Definition of Lilac

1. n. A shrub of the genus Syringa. There are six species, natives of Europe and Asia. Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, and S. Persica, the Persian lilac, are frequently cultivated for the fragrance and beauty of their purplish or white flowers. In the British colonies various other shrubs have this name.

Definition of Lilac

1. Noun. a large shrub of the genus ''Syringa'', bearing white, pale pink or purple flowers. ¹

2. Noun. lilac flowers ¹

3. Noun. (colour) a pale purple colour, the colour of some lilac flowers. ¹

4. Adjective. (colour) having a pale purple colour. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Lilac

1. a flowering shrub [n -S]

Medical Definition of Lilac

1. 1. A shrub of the genus Syringa. There are six species, natives of Europe and Asia. Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, and S. Persica, the Persian lilac, are frequently cultivated for the fragrance and beauty of their purplish or white flowers. In the British colonies various other shrubs have this name. 2. A light purplish colour like that of the flower of the purplish lilac. California lilac, a low shrub with dense clusters of purplish flowers (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus). Origin: Sp. Lilac, lila, Ar.lilak, fr. Per. Lilaj, lilanj, lilang, nilaj, nil, the indigo plant, or from the kindred lilak bluish, the flowers being named from the colour. Cf. Anil. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Lilac

liketh
likewake
likewakes
likewalk
likewalks
likewise
likewize
likeworthy
likin
liking
likings
likins
likish
likuta
lil'
lilac (current term)
lilacin
lilacky
lilacs
lilangeni
liliaceae
liliaceous
liliaceous plant
lilial
lilied
lilies
lilies-of-the-valley
lilies of the valley
liliid monocot family
liliid monocot genus

Literary usage of Lilac

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

1. The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture: A Discussion for the Amateur, and ...by Liberty Hyde Bailey by Liberty Hyde Bailey (1917)
"Blue, lilac, or pink: Alphonse Lavallé, bluish lilac, AF 12:1077; ... The lilac has nothing like the commercial importance for forcing in America that it ..."

2. Poems of the English Race by Raymond Macdonald Alden (1921)
"KEW IN lilac-TIME ALFRED NOYES [One of the lyrics supposed to be heard by the poet in the music of a street-piano in London; from a long poem called "The ..."

3. Cyclopedia of American Horticulture: Comprising Suggestions for Cultivation by Liberty Hyde Bailey, Wilhelm Miller (1902)
"The lilac has nothing like- the commercial importance for- forcing in America that it has in Europe, but the appreciation of it for- winter bloom is on the ..."

4. The Melody of Earth: An Anthology of Garden and Nature Poems from Present by Gertrude Moore Richards (1918)
"And you shall wander hand in hand with love in summer's wonderland; Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it is n't far from London!). The cherry-trees are seas of ..."

5. Botanical Gazette by University of Chicago, JSTOR (Organization) (1918)
"Fig. i represents a panicle of a bud sport of the Persian lilac, and beside it a panicle of the form on which it appeared. The bush is one of the very ..."

6. Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society by Royal Horticultural Society (Great Britain). (1900)
"At the same time the laciniate Persian lilac, fig. 114, the widest spread, the most vigorous, and the only naturally fertile one of the group, was submitted ..."

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