lilac

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a shrub or small tree of the genus Syringa, grown for its clusters of fragrant flowers

   A lilac beside the gate filled the spring air with fragrance.

2. 2
   noun

   a pale purple color

   The evening sky faded from pink to lilac.

3. 3
   adj

   pale purple in color

   She wore a lilac scarf with her gray coat.

From obsolete French lilac, from Arabic lilak, ultimately from Persian nilak, a diminutive related to nil ("indigo, dark blue"). The plant name later supplied the English color term for its characteristic pale-purple flowers.

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