oleander

[ oh-lee-an-der, oh-lee-an- ]

noun
  1. a poisonous shrub, Nerium oleander, of the dogbane family, native to southern Eurasia, having evergreen leaves and showy clusters of pink, red, or white flowers, and widely cultivated as an ornamental.

Origin of oleander

1
1540–50; <Medieval Latin oleander, oliandrum, obscurely akin to Late Latin laurandrum, perhaps a conflation of Latin lauruslaurel and rhododendronrhododendron

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use oleander in a sentence

  • She and Felix have something pleasanter to talk about, out under the oaks, or back in the shadow of the oleanders.

  • Far away below you lies Rapallo in the crook of the bay among the oleanders and vines.

  • Pietrasanta is set at the foot of the Hills of Paradise, littered with marble, planted with figs and oleanders, full of the sun.

  • At the base of the fan runs the Aliso, without haste, bordered on either bank by oleanders growing like rushes.

    The Isle of Unrest | Henry Seton Merriman
  • Amy noticed in gardens and windows fewer hollyhocks, oleanders, and other bright flowers than she had seen at Meteghan.

    Amy in Acadia | Helen Leah Reed

British Dictionary definitions for oleander

oleander

/ (ˌəʊlɪˈændə) /


noun
  1. a poisonous evergreen Mediterranean apocynaceous shrub or tree, Nerium oleander, with fragrant white, pink, or purple flowers: Also called: rosebay

Origin of oleander

1
C16: from Medieval Latin, variant of arodandrum, perhaps from Latin rhododendron

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012