From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Lilac \Li"lac\ (l[imac]"lak), noun [Also {lilach}.] [Sp. lilac, lila, Ar. l[=i]lak, fr. Per. l[=i]laj, l[=i]lanj, l[=i]lang, n[=i]laj, n[=i]l, the indigo plant, or from the kindred l[=i]lak bluish, the flowers being named from the color. Cf. {Anil}.]
1. (Bot.) A shrub of the genus {Syringa}. There are six species, natives of Europe and Asia. {Syringa vulgaris}, the common lilac, and {Syringa 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 color like that of the flower of the purplish lilac.
{California lilac} (Bot.), a low shrub with dense clusters of purplish flowers ({Ceanothus thyrsiflorus}).
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
adjective
1: of a pale purple color [syn: {lavender}]
noun
1: any of various plants of the genus Syringa having large panicles of usually fragrant flowers
Define.com is a registered nonprofit corporation dedicated solely to the global public interest and the advancement of humanity. It belongs to all of us who have a desire to promote electronic democracy, science, creativity, imagination, reason, critical thinking, peace, race and gender equality, civil rights, equal access to education, personal liberty, free speech, animal rights, compassionate and nonviolent parenting, social and economic justice, global monetary reform, Secular Humanism, cognitive liberty and a permanent cessation of The War on Drugs.
Let's see what we can do if we put our heads together.
0