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myrtle |
5 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Myrtle \Myr"tle\ (m[~e]r"t'l), n. [F. myrtil bilberry, prop., a little myrtle, from myrte myrtle, L. myrtus, murtus, Gr my`rtos; cf Per. m[=u]rd.] (Bot.) A species of the genus {Myrtus}, especially {Myrtus communis}. The common myrtle has a shrubby, upright stem, eight or ten feet high. Its branches form a close full head, thickly covered with ovate or lanceolate evergreen leaves. It has solitary axillary white or rosy flowers, followed by black several-seeded berries. The ancients considered it sacred to Venus. The flowers, leaves, and berries are used variously in perfumery and as a condiment, and the beautifully mottled wood is used in turning. Note: The name is also popularly but wrongly applied in America to two creeping plants, the blue-flowered periwinkle and the yellow-flowered moneywort. In the West Indies several myrtaceous shrubs are called myrtle. {Bog myrtle}, the sweet gale. {Crape myrtle}. See under {Crape}. {Myrtle warbler} (Zo["o]l.), a North American wood warbler ({Dendroica coronata}); -- called also {myrtle bird}, {yellow-rumped warbler}, and {yellow-crowned warbler}. {Myrtle wax}. (Bot.) See {Bayberry tallow}, under {Bayberry}. {Sand myrtle}, a low branching evergreen shrub ({Leiophyllum buxifolium}), growing in New Jersey and southward. {Wax myrtle} ({Myrica cerifera}). See {Bayberry}. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Periwinkle \Per"i*win`kle\, n. [OE. pervenke AS pervince fr L. pervinca.] (Bot.) A trailing herb of the genus {Vinca}. Note: The common perwinkle ({Vinca minor}) has opposite evergreen leaves and solitary blue or white flowers in their axils. In America it is often miscalled {myrtle}. See under {Myrtle}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: myrtle n 1: widely cultivated as a groundcover for its dark green shiny leaves and usually blue-violet flowers [syn: {Vinca minor}] 2: any evergreen shrub or tree of the genus Myrtus From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]: Myrtle, MN (city, FIPS 44890) Location: 43.56318 N, 93.16288 W Population (1990): 72 (36 housing units) Area: 0.3 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Myrtle, MO Zip code(s): 65778 Myrtle, MS (town, FIPS 50280) Location: 34.55928 N, 89.11581 W Population (1990): 358 (159 housing units) Area: 1.5 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 38650 Myrtle, WV Zip code(s): 25670 From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Myrtle (Isa. 41:19; Neh. 8:15; Zech. 1:8), Hebrew hadas, known in the East by the name _as_, the Myrtus communis of the botanist. "Although no myrtles are now found on the mount (of Olives), excepting in the gardens, yet they still exist in many of the glens about Jerusalem, where we have often seen its dark shining leaves and white flowers. There are many near Bethlehem and about Hebron, especially near Dewir Dan, the ancient Debir. It also sheds its fragrance on the sides of Carmel and of Tabor, and fringes the clefts of the Leontes in its course through Galilee. We meet with it all through Central Palestine" (Tristram).
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