- Lavandula vera
- Lavender Lav"en*der, n. [OE. lavendre, F. lavande, It. lavanda
lavender, a washing, fr. L. lavare to wash; cf. It.
lsavendola, LL. lavendula. So called because it was used in
bathing and washing. See {Lave}. to wash, and cf.
{Lavender}.]
1. (Bot.) An aromatic plant of the genus {Lavandula}
({Lavandula vera}), common in the south of Europe. It
yields and oil used in medicine and perfumery. The {Spike
lavender} ({Lavandula Spica}) yields a coarser oil (oil of
spike), used in the arts.
[1913 Webster]
2. The pale, purplish color of lavender flowers, paler and more delicate than lilac. [1913 Webster]
{Lavender cotton} (Bot.), a low, twiggy, aromatic shrub ({Santolina Cham[ae]cyparissus}) of the Mediterranean region, formerly used as a vermifuge, etc., and still used to keep moths from wardrobes. Also called {ground cypress}.
{Lavender water}, a perfume, toilet water, or shaving lotion containing the essential oil of lavender, and sometimes the essential oil of bergamot, and essence of ambergris.
{Sea lavender}. (Bot.) See {Marsh rosemary}.
{To lay in lavender}. (a) To lay away, as clothing, with sprigs of lavender. (b) To pawn. [Obs.] [1913 Webster +PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
