Etymology From obsolete French lilac (now lilas), from Arabic لِيلَك (līlak).
1
A large shrub of the genus Syringa, especially Syringa vulgaris, bearing white, pale-pink, or purple flowers.
Breezes blowing from beds of iris quickened her breath with their perfume; she saw the tufted lilacs sway in the wind, and the streamers of mauve-tinted wistaria swinging, all a-glisten with golden bees; she saw a crimson cardinal winging through the foliage, and amorous tanagers flashing like scarlet flames athwart the pines.1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “Afterglow”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 168:
2
A flower of the lilac shrub.
[…] O death, I cover you over with roses and early lilies, / But mostly and now the lilac that blooms the first, / Copious I break, I break the sprigs from the bushes, / With loaded arms I come, pouring for you, / For you and the coffins all of you O death.1865, Walt Whitman, “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d”, in Sequel to Drum-Taps: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d and other poems:
3
A pale purple color, the color of some lilac flowers.
Etymology From obsolete French lilac (now lilas), from Arabic لِيلَك (līlak).
1
Having a pale purple colour.
2
Of a cat or its fur: having a pale brown colour, lighter than chocolate.
Derived terms
36 termsAfghanistan lilac, Australian lilac, California lilac, Cape lilac(Please check if this is already defined at target. Replace with a regular link if already defined. Add novern=1 if not defined.), Chinese lilac, common lilac, cutleaf lilac, daphne lilac, early lilac, French lilac, German lilac, Himalayan lilac, Hungarian lilac, hyacinth lilac, Indian lilac, Japanese tree lilac, Japan tree lilac, Japanese lilac, Korean lilac, late lilac, lilac-crowned parrot, lilac daphne, lilac kingfisher, lilac mildew, lilac point, lilac vine, lilacky, littleleaf lilac, mountain lilac, native lilac, New Zealand lilac, nodding lilac, Peking lilac, Persian lilac, summer lilac, wild lilac