gentian

[ jen-shuhn ]

noun
  1. any of several plants of the genera Gentiana,Gentianella, and Gentianopsis, having usually blue, or sometimes yellow, white, or red, flowers, as the fringed gentian of North America, or Gentiana lutea, of Europe.: Compare gentian family.

  2. any of various plants resembling the gentian.

  1. the root of G. lutea, or a preparation of it, used as a tonic.

Origin of gentian

1
1350–1400; Middle English gencian<Latin gentiāna; said to be named after Gentius, an Illyrian king

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British Dictionary definitions for gentian

gentian

/ (ˈdʒɛnʃən) /


noun
  1. any gentianaceous plant of the genera Gentiana or Gentianella, having blue, yellow, white, or red showy flowers

  2. the bitter-tasting dried rhizome and roots of Gentiana lutea (European or yellow gentian), which can be used as a tonic

  1. any of several similar plants, such as the horse gentian

Origin of gentian

1
C14: from Latin gentiāna; perhaps named after Gentius, a second-century bc Illyrian king, reputedly the first to use it medicinally

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