‖ mimosa
(mɪˈməʊzə, mɪˈməʊsə)
Pl. -as, also Lat. -æ.
[mod.L. (Colin 1619: see Hatz.-Darm. s.v.), app. f. L. mīm-us mime n. + -ōsa fem. of -ōsus suffix: see -ose. The name seems to have been meant to allude to the ‘mimicry’ of conscious life shown by the Sensitive Plant.]
1. Bot. a. A genus of leguminous shrubs, natives of tropical and sub-tropical regions; the best known representative is the common Sensitive Plant, M. pudica. The genus was originally nearly co-extensive with the present sub-order Mimoseæ, but has been greatly narrowed by the separation of Acacia and other genera. Also, a plant of this genus. b. In popular language applied chiefly to the Sensitive Plant and to certain trees of the genus Acacia, esp. the Australian species otherwise known as Wattle-trees.
| [1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Mimosæ Plantæ, the same with Sensative.] 1751 J. Hill Hist. Plants 474 The legume of the Mimosa is articulated, and the leaves are sensitive. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., The species of Mimosa, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are these: 1. The common sensitive shrub. 2. The prickly and more sensitive Mimosa... 5. The prickly Pernambuco Mimosa. 1775 Nat. Hist. in Ann. Reg. (1783) 93 The Mimosæ, or sensitive plants. 1801 Southey Thalaba i. xiv, Beneath a tall mimosa's shade..They saw a man reclined. 1808 Scott Marm. iv. Introd. 196 For not Mimosa's tender tree Shrinks sooner from the touch than he. 1847 Longfellow Ev. ii. ii. 42 At the tramp of a horse's hoof on the turf of the prairies, Far in advance are closed the leaves of the shrinking mimosa. 1857 Livingstone Trav. xi. 203 White-thorned mimosa (Acacia horrida). 1862 G. T. Lloyd 33 Yrs. Tasmania iii. 33 The Mimosa or Wattle, which prevails throughout the most fertile lands of Tasmania. 1867 Baker Nile Tribut. i. (1872) 9 A few miserable stunted thorny mimosas. |
2. The bark of various Australian species of
Acacia, used in tanning; also called
wattle-bark.
| 1852–4 Tomlinson's Cycl. Usef. Arts, etc. (1866) II. 28 Mimosa or Wattle-bark, is procured from different species of mimosa, which grow in Australia and New Zealand. |
3. A yellow colour resembling that of the mimosa. Also
attrib.| 1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl., Mimosa, same as thiazol yellow. 1928 A. Christie Mystery of Blue Train viii. 61 The little mimosa suit of crêpe de chine. 1966 Harper's Bazaar Sept. 41 Evening dress... In mimosa, toast or turquoise. 1971 R. Busby Deadlock xiii. 201 The immaculate coffee-coloured tussore suit..with a fresh mimosa shirt. |
4. attrib. and
Comb., as
mimosa-bush,
mimosa family,
mimosa scrub,
mimosa shrub,
mimosa-thorn;
mimosa-yellow adj;
mimosa-bark = sense 2;
mimosa gum = gum arabic (see
Arabic a. 2).
| 1848 W. Westgarth Australia Felix xvii. 255 The other exports of Australia Felix consist chiefly of tallow,..*mimosa bark, and gum-wood. |
| 1856 F. Fleming S. Afr. xii. 264 A broad valley, covered with rich pasturage and dotted with ‘*mimosa’ bushes, stretched out over several acres. 1900 Kipling in Daily News 16 June 4/5 McManus went for a walk through the mimosa-bushes. |
| 1860 Gray Man. Bot. 91 Mimoseæ, the *Mimosa Family. |
| 1890 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Mimosa gum. |
| 1900 Doyle Green Flag 4 Thick clumps of *mimosa scrub. |
| 1830 R. Dawson Pres. State Austral. v. (1831) 202 Gum arabic, which exudes from the *mimosa shrubs. |
| 1894 Sir G. H. Portal Mission Uganda 35 Clumps of *mimosa thorns. 1898 Daily News 6 Sept. 4/7 They stood behind the thin breastwork of mimosa thorn bushes. |
| 1775 Masson Journeys at Cape in Phil. Trans. LXVI. 290 We encamped under a large *mimosa tree. |
| 1910 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 747/1 The following list includes the principal coal-tar colours..*mimosa yellow. |
______________________________
Sense 4 in
Dict. becomes 5. Add:
4. U.S. A cocktail consisting of champagne and orange juice.
Cf. Buck's Fizz n.| 1936 F. Meier Artistry of Mixing Drinks 74/2 Mimosa or Champagne Orange. In a large wineglass: a piece of Ice, the juice of one-half Orange; fill with Champagne stir and serve. 1948 D. A. Embury Fine Art of Mixing Drinks xi. 308 Mimosa. Orange juice and champagne, half and half. Just another freak champagne mixture. It's not half bad and the ladies usually like it. 1975 New Yorker 30 June 32/1 People keep arriving, parking their cars along the road, going up the outside stairs to the deck..to drink Mimosas, a combination of orange juice and champagne. 1987 T. Boyle Post-Mortem Effects xvi. 134 Leaning against the bar on her stool, holding her mimosa glass by the stem. Ibid. 137 Another mimosa, okay? |