gentian

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: gen=tian

CIDE DICTIONARY

gentian, n. [OE. genciane, F. gentiane, L. gentiana, fr. Gentius, an Illyrian king, said to have discovered its properties.].

 Any one of a genus (Gentiana) of herbaceous plants with opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla, usually blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. See Illust. of Capsule.  [1913 Webster]
" Many species are found on the highest mountains of Europe, Asia, and America, and some are prized for their beauty, as the Alpine (Gentiana verna, Gentiana Bavarica, and Gentiana excisa), and the American fringed gentians (Gentiana crinita and Gentiana detonsa). Several are used as tonics, especially the bitter roots of Gentiana lutea, the officinal gentian of the pharmacopoeias."  [1913 Webster]

Horse gentian, fever root. -- Yellow gentian (Bot.), the officinal gentian (Gentiana lutea). See Bitterwort.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

gentian, n.
1 any plant of the genus Gentiana or Gentianella, found esp. in mountainous regions, and having usu. vivid blue flowers.
2 (in full gentian bitter) a liquor extracted from the root of the gentian.

Idiom

gentian violet a violet dye used as an antiseptic, esp. in the treatment of burns.

Etymology

OE f. L gentiana f. Gentius king of Illyria