- Lotus
- Lotus Lo"tus (l[=o]"t[u^]s), n. [L. lotus, Gr. lwto`s. Cf.
{Lote}.]
1. (Bot.)
(a) A name of several kinds of water lilies; as {Nelumbium
speciosum}, used in religious ceremonies, anciently in
Egypt, and to this day in Asia; {Nelumbium luteum},
the American lotus; and {Nymph[ae]a Lotus} and
{Nymph[ae]a c[ae]rulea}, the respectively
white-flowered and blue-flowered lotus of modern
Egypt, which, with {Nelumbium speciosum}, are figured
on its ancient monuments.
(b) The lotus of the lotuseaters, probably a tree found in
Northern Africa, Sicily, Portugal, and Spain
({Zizyphus Lotus}), the fruit of which is mildly
sweet. It was fabled by the ancients to make strangers
who ate of it forget their native country, or lose all
desire to return to it.
(c) The lote, or nettle tree. See {Lote}.
(d) A genus ({Lotus}) of leguminous plants much resembling
clover. [Written also {lotos}.]
[1913 Webster]
{European lotus}, a small tree ({Diospyros Lotus}) of Southern Europe and Asia; also, its rather large bluish black berry, which is called also the {date plum}. [1913 Webster]
2. (Arch.) An ornament much used in Egyptian architecture, generally asserted to have been suggested by the Egyptian water lily. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
