kəˌnɛt1300–50; Middle English < Old Spanish alcaneta, equivalent to alcan(a) henna (plant) (< Medieval Latin alchanna < Arabic al the + hinnā̉ henna) + -eta diminutive suffix
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| a chattering or flighty, light-headed person. |
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
alkanet (ˈælkəˌnɛt) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a European boraginaceous plant, Alkanna tinctoria, the roots of which yield a red dye |
| 2. | anchusin, Also called: alkannin the dye obtained from this plant |
| 3. | See also bugloss any of certain hairy blue-flowered Old World plants of the boraginaceous genus Anchusa (or Pentaglottis), such as A. sempervirens of Europe |
| 4. | another name for puccoon |
| [C14: from Spanish alcaneta, diminutive of alcana henna, from Medieval Latin alchanna, from Arabic al the + hinnā' henna] | |
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alkanet
any plant of the 50 or so mostly Mediterranean species of the genus Anchusa and the closely related Pentaglottis sempervirens, bearing blue, purple, or white forget-me-not-like flower clusters on hairy, herbaceous stems. They belong to the family Boraginaceae. True alkanet (A. officinalis) bears purple flowers in coiled sprays, on narrow-leaved plants, 60 cm (2 feet) tall. Large blue alkanet (A. azurea), popular as a garden species, reaches 120 cm (4 feet) and has large, bright-blue flowers with a tuft of white hairs in the throats, and narrow leaves. Oval, pointed evergreen leaves and white-eyed blue flowers characterize the evergreen alkanet (Pentaglottis sempervirens), which reaches 100 cm (3 13 feet). All three species grow in fields and roadside waste spaces. True alkanet has become naturalized in some areas of eastern North America.
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