English Explanatory Dictionary

lilac

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.
  2. A flower of the lilac shrub.
  3. A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.
  4. A cat having a lilac-colored (pale brown) coat.
adj
  1. Having a pale purple colour.
  2. Of a cat or its fur: having a pale brown colour, lighter than chocolate.
name
  1. A female given name from English.

Pronunciation

/ˈlaɪlək/ /ˈlaɪlæk/ /ˈlaɪlɑk/ en-us-lilac.ogg

Word forms

lilac lilacs more lilac most lilac

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *neyH-der.? Sanskrit नील॑ (nī́la)der. Middle Persian 𐭭𐭩𐭫 (nīl) Classical Persian نِیل (nīl) Middle Persian 𐭪 (k /⁠-ak⁠/) Classical Persian ـَک (-ak) Classical Persian لِیلَک (līlak)bor. Arabic لِيلَك (līlak)bor. French lilacbor. English lilac From obsolete French lilac (now lilas), from Arabic لِيلَك (līlak).

Related words

syringa bunchflower

Derived words

California lilac lilac-breasted roller lilac chaser lilacin lilac-throated roller lilacwater Afghanistan lilac Australian lilac Cape lilac Chinese lilac common lilac cutleaf lilac daphne lilac early lilac French lilac German lilac Himalayan lilac Hungarian lilac hyacinth lilac Indian lilac Japanese tree lilac Japan tree lilac Japanese lilac Korean lilac late lilac lilac-crowned parrot lilac daphne lilac kingfisher lilac mildew lilac point lilac vine lilacky littleleaf lilac mountain lilac native lilac New Zealand lilac nodding lilac Peking lilac Persian lilac summer lilac wild lilac
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on L Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary