hyacinth
/ˈhaɪ̯əsɪnθ/ noun, proper noun
Forms hyacinths
- noun Any bulbous plant of the genus Hyacinthus, native to the Mediterranean and South Africa.
- noun A variety of zircon, ranging in color from brown, orange, reddish-brown and yellow; a jacinth.
- proper noun (rare) A male given name from Ancient Greek.
- proper noun A female given name from English; one of the less common flower names used since the 19th century.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English jacinth, partly from Old French jacincte, from Medieval Latin jacintus, and partly from Old English iacinþ, from Medieval Latin jacinthus, both from Latin hyacinthus, from Ancient Greek ὑάκινθος (huákinthos, “any of several dark blue flowers”), ultimately from a non-Indo-European Mediterranean language. Re-Latinized in the 16th century.
From Latin Hyacinthus, a saint's name from Ancient Greek Ὑάκινθος (Huákinthos), the name of a mythological character.
Webster’s 1913
- noun (a) A bulbous plant of the genus Hyacinthus, bearing beautiful spikes of fragrant flowers. H. orientalis is a common variety.
- noun A red variety of zircon, sometimes used as a gem. See Zircon.
Etymology [L. hyacinthus a kind of flower, prob. the iris, gladiolus, or larkspur, also a kind of gem, perh. the sapphire; as, a proper name, Hyacinthus, a beautiful Laconian youth, beloved by Apollo, fr. Gr. hyacinthe. Cf. Jacinth. The hyacinth was fabled to have sprung from the blood of Hyacinthus, who was accidentally slain by Apollo.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hyacinth”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details