Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Hyacinth
Hy′a-cinth
,Noun.
[L.
hyacinthus
a kind of flower, prob. the iris, gladiolus, or larkspur, also a kind of gem, perh. the sapphire; as, a proper name, Hyacinthus
, a beautiful Laconian youth, beloved by Apollo, fr. Gr. [GREEK], [GREEK]: cf. F. hyacinthe
. Cf. Jacinth
. The hyacinth was fabled to have sprung from the blood of Hyacinthus
, who was accidentally slain by Apollo.] 1.
(Bot.)
(a)
A bulbous plant of the genus
Hyacinthus
, bearing beautiful spikes of fragrant flowers. Hyacinthus orientalis
is a common variety. (b)
A plant of the genus
Camassia
(Camassia Farseri
), called also Eastern camass
; wild hyacinth. (c)
The name also given to
Scilla Peruviana
, a Mediterranean plant, one variety of which produces white, and another blue, flowers; – called also, from a mistake as to its origin, Hyacinth of Peru
. 2.
(Min.)
A red variety of zircon, sometimes used as a gem. See
Zircon
. Hyacinth bean
(Bot.)
, a climbing leguminous plant (
Dolichos Lablab
), related to the true bean. It has dark purple flowers and fruit.Webster 1828 Edition
Hyacinth
HY'ACINTH
,Noun.
1.
In botany, a genus of plants, of several species, and a great number of varieties. The oriental hyacinth has a large, purplish, bulbous root, from which spring several narrow erect leaves; the flower stalk is upright and succulent, and adorned with many bell-shaped flowers,united in a large pyramidical spike, of different colors in the varieties.2.
In mineralogy, a mineral, a variety of zircon, whose crystals,when distinct, have the form of a four-sided prism, terminated by four rhombic planes,which stand on the lateral edges. Its structure is foliated; its luster, strong; its fracture, conchoidal. Its prevailing color is a hyacinth red, in which the red is more or less tinged with yellow or brown. It is sometimes transparent, and sometimes only translucent. Hyacinth is a subspecies of pyramidical zircon.