seringa
(səˈrɪŋgə)
[a. F. seringa (formerly also seringat) = Pg. seringa, ad. L. syringa.]
1. Any of the shrubs of the genus Philadelphus, esp. P. coronarius, common in gardens; the mock-orange, syringa. (Also † seringo.)
| 1740 C'tess of Hertford Let. to C'tess Pomfret 17 Apr., Arbours interwoven with lilacs, woodbines, seringas, and laurels. a 1785 T. Potter Moralist II. 144 'Twas then a Black-bird and its mate In a seringo built their nest. 1840 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) III. 109 The rich perfume of the seringas and acacias. 1876 M. E. Braddon J. Haggard's Dau. x, A dark-brown jug of roses and seringa on the window-sill. |
‖ 2. The Portuguese name for Brazilian plants of the genus Hevea (Siphonia), yielding india-rubber.
| 1866 Treas. Bot. s.v. Siphonia, They [species of Siphonia] are called Seringa-trees by the Brazilians. 1880 C. R. Markham Peruv. Bark 455 In Brazil the name is seringa, and the collectors are seringueiros. |
Hence seˈringahood nonce-wd., the condition of abounding in seringa bloom; seˈringous a., resembling that of seringa.
| 1754 H. Walpole Let. to G. Montagu 8 June, [Strawberry Hill] is now in the height of its greenth, blueth, gloomth, honeysuckle and seringahood. 1887 A. M. Brown Anim. Alkal. 32 An almost cloudless liquid of slightly oleaginous consistence, of a seringous odour. |