lilac
pronunciation
How to pronounce lilac in British English:
UK [ˈlaɪlək]
How to pronounce lilac in American English:
US [ˈlaɪlək, -lɑk, -læk]
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- Noun:
- any of various plants of the genus Syringa having large panicles of usually fragrant flowers
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- Adjective:
- of a pale purple color
Word Origin
- lilac
- lilac: [17] Like the river Nile, the lilac gets its name from its colour. The Sanskrit word for ‘dark blue’ was nīla. This passed into Persian as nīl, from which was derived nīlak ‘bluish’. This developed a variant līlak, which English acquired via Arabic līlak, Spanish lilac, and early modern French lilac. Along the way it was applied to a shrub of the genus Syringa, on account of its mauve flowers.
- lilac (n.)
- 1620s, from French lilac "shrub of genus Syringa with mauve flowers," from Spanish lilac, from Arabic lilak, from Persian lilak, variant of nilak "bluish," from nil "indigo" (compare Sanskrit nilah "dark blue"), of uncertain origin. As a color name, attested from 1791; as a scent, from 1895. As an adjective, "pale pinkish-purple," from 1801. Related: Lilaceous.
Example
- 1. Children played near a lilac tree .
- 2. Mr averre-beeson now runs lilac sky schools , which supplies staff to transform failing schools .
- 3. Or even the fur ball on serena linley , or the lilac curlicue sprouting from the mother of the bride ?
- 4. The air around her smells soft as roses and lilac .
- 5. Nor will she have time to pop out of bed with the dawn to kiss lilac blossoms in the morning dew .