lilac
(ˈlaɪlək)
Forms: 7 lelack(e, 7–8 (9) lilach, 8–9 (now chiefly dial. or U.S.) laylock, (9 layloc, U.S. vulgar lalock), 8 lylac, 7– lilac.
[a. F. lilac (Cotgr.; now lilas), a. Sp. lilac, a. Arab. līlā̆k, app. ad. Pers. līlak, var. of nīlak bluish, f. Pers. nīl blue, indigo (Skr. nīla, Hindī līl); cf. various Pers. words for indigo, līlah, līlanj, etc., which have parallel forms with initial n. Other forms are Pg. lilaz (from Sp. or Arab.), Turkish leilaq (whence possibly the early 17th c. lelacke, mod. laylock.]
1. a. A shrub, Syringa vulgaris, cultivated for its fragrant blossoms, which are of a pale pinkish violet colour; a variety has white blossoms. Also, the flower of this shrub.
| 1625 [see lilac-tree below]. 1658 Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus iii. 128 The Autumnal budds..making little Rhombuses, and network figures, as in the Sycamore and Lilac. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. Nov. 79 Plant Roses..Lilac, Syringas [etc.]. 1763 Brit. Mag. IV. 605 And gather'd laylocks perish, as they blow. 1777 T. Warton Ode x. 1st Apr. 25 The lilac hangs to view Its bursting gems in clusters blue. 1844 Lady G. C. Fullerton Ellen Middleton (1854) II. xii. 69 A large nosegay of lilacs and seringa. 1860 O. W. Holmes Prof. Breakf.-t. ii, Lalocks flowered late. 1865 Tennyson On a Mourner ii, Nature..makes the purple lilac ripe. 1881 Besant & Rice Chapl. of Fleet I. 3 The yellow laburnum, and the laylock were at their best. |
b. Applied to other species of
Syringa (see
quots.).
| 1712 J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 28 Rose-Trees, Honey-suckles, Persian Lilachs, &c. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 478/2 Syringa Josikea, Josika's lilac..is a native of Transylvania, and was discovered by the Baroness von Josika, after whom it was named by Jacquin. S. Chinensis, Chinese lilac... In characters it is intermediate between S. vulgaris and S. Persica, and agrees with a hybrid plant produced at Rouen by M. Vain, and called S. Rotomagensis, the Rouen lilac. 1861 Delamer Fl. Gard. 124 S. Persica, the Persian Lilac, is a smaller and slenderer shrub, with looser, more drooping heads of flowers, more aromatically perfumed. This also has a white variety. |
c. Applied to plants of other genera (see
quots.).
| 1839 Penny Cycl. XV. 80/1 Melia Azedarak, sometimes called Persian Lilac, Pride of India, and Common Bead⁓tree. 1860 G. Bennett Gatherings Nat. Austral. xvii. 326 The White Cedar-tree, or Australian Lilac (Melia Australis). 1866 Treas. Bot. 681/2 African Lilac, Melia Azedarach. Australian Lilac, a name used by the settlers for Hardenbergia monophylla; also Prostanthera violacea. Indian Lilac, Melia semperflorens. 1881 J. S. Gamble Indian Timbers 70 Melia Azedarach, Linn... The Persian Lilac. 1898 Morris Austral Eng., Lilac, name given in Australia to the tree Melia composita..called Cape Lilac. It is not endemic in Australia, and is called ‘Persian Lilac’ in India. In Tasmania the name of Native Lilac is given to Prostanthera rotundifolia. |
2. a. The colour of lilac blossom.
| 1791 Hamilton Berthollet's Dyeing II. ii. iii. xi. 258 The colour was more or less inclined to red, from lilac to violet. 1796 Stedman Surinam II. xvii. 32 The breast [of the paroquet] is of a leaden hue, the belly lilac. 1816 C'tess Hardwicke in Two Noble Lives I. 53 Elizabeth wore white and silver, I wore layloc and silver. 1847 Tennyson Princess ii. 3 She brought us Academic silks, in hue The lilac. |
b. attrib., passing into adj. Of the colour of lilac blossom.
| 1801 M. Edgeworth Contrast (1832) 114 It will spoil my lilac ribbons. 1854–6 Patmore Angel in Ho. x. i. 5 The little lilac glove. 1864 Tennyson Grandmother xv, So Willy and I were wedded: I wore a lilac gown. 1882 Garden 1 Apr. 210/1 A beautiful alpine Crowfoot, with delicate lilac flowers. |
c. The scent of lilac,
esp. as used in cosmetics, etc.
| 1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. 259/3 Perfumes... White Lilac. 1898 Illustr. London News 1 Jan. 34 (Advt.), Lance Perfumes..acacia, violet, lilac..price one shilling. c 1938 Fortnum & Mason Price List 54/1 Soaps..Lilac. 1951 A. Langenbach Wines Germany xxviii. 126 The finest Rheingau growths..have a delicious lilac-like bouquet. 1972 Guardian 22 Aug. 9/4 Jackson's have revived the floral perfumes... The current range comprises sweetpea..purple lilac, and jonquil. |
3. attrib. and
Comb., as
lilac-ambush,
lilac-blossom,
lilac-bush,
lilac-flower,
lilac-shade,
lilac-time,
lilac-tree; also, qualifying the names of colours, as
lilac-blue,
lilac-grey,
lilac-mauve,
lilac-pink,
lilac-purple; parasynthetic, as
lilac-coloured,
lilac-headed,
lilac-tinted adjs.;
lilac-breasted roller,
Coracias caudata, a bird found in the southern half of Africa;
lilac moth (see
quot.);
lilac-tide nonce-use, the time when lilac is in bloom.
| 1842 Tennyson Gardener's Dau. 111 This, yielding, gave into a grassy walk Thro' crowded *lilac-ambush trimly pruned. |
| 1890 O. Wilde Dorian Gray ii. 15 Lord Henry..found Dorian Gray burying his face in the great cool *lilac-blossoms. 1974 A. Goodard Vienna Pursuit iii. 115 Some lilac blossom had been blown..across the pavement. |
| 1851 B'ham & Midl. Gardener's Mag. May 52 Bunches of delicate *lilac-blue..flowers. |
| 1908 Haagner & Ivy Sk. S. Afr. Bird-Life 29 The beautiful *Lilac-breasted Roller (C[oracias] caudatus) is green, blue and brown, with the breast of a purplish-lilac tinge with white shaft-streaks, and the abdomen blue... This bird is not uncommon in the Transvaal bushveld. 1947 J. Stevenson-Hamilton Wild Life S. Afr. xxxiv. 293 The bright plumage..of the lilac-breasted roller. 1971 Country Life 28 Oct. 1126/2 [In Ethiopia] I first saw those gorgeously-coloured birds, the lilac-breasted rollers. |
| 1862 Lowell Biglow P. Ser. ii, vi. 87 The catbird in the *laylock-bush is loud. |
| 1766 T. Amory Buncle (1770) IV. 97 You must write with this *lilach-coloured liquor. |
| 1880 Black White Wings xx, The silent, glassy, *lilac-grey sea. |
| 1802 G. Barrington Hist. N.S. Wales ix. 344 The beautiful *lilac-headed parroquet. |
| 1868 Wood Homes without H. xiv. 296 The little chocolate-coloured moth called the *Lilac Moth (Lazotænia ribeana). |
| 1882 Garden 7 Oct. 307/3 Pelargoniums..Lady Sheffield, *lilac-pink. |
| Ibid. 1 Apr. 223/2 A compact rosette of a rich *lilac-purple. |
| 1849 M. Arnold Modern Sappho i, Nothing stirs on the lawn but the quick *lilac-shade. |
| 1765 H. Walpole Let. to Earl Hertford 12 May, Though in all the bloom of my passion, *lilac-tide, I have not been at Strawberry this fortnight. |
| 1906 W. Robinson Eng. Flower Garden (ed. 10) 881/1 To have a good *Lilac-time it is essential to have the newer varieties raised in France. 1910 A. Noyes Barrel Organ in Coll. Poems I. 129 Go down to Kew in lilac-time (it isn't far from London!). |
| 1847–9 Todd Cycl. Anat. IV. 126/2 *Lilac-tinted spots. |
| 1625 Bacon Ess., Gardens (Arb.) 556 The *Lelacke Tree. 1650 Surv. Nonsuch Palace, Archæol. V. 434 A fountaine of white marble..set round with six trees called lelack trees. |