GENTIAN

gentian

(noun) any of various plants of the family Gentianaceae especially the genera Gentiana and Gentianella and Gentianopsis

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

gentian (plural gentians)

Any of various herbs of the family Gentianaceae found in temperate and mountainous regions with violet or blue flowers.

The dried roots and rhizome of a European gentian (Gentiana lutea), used as a tonic.

Anagrams

• anteing, antigen

Source: Wiktionary

Gen"tian, n. Etym: [OE. genciane, F. gentiane, L. gentiana, fr. Gentius, an Illyrian king, said to have discovered its properties.] (Bot.)

Definition: Any one of a genus (Gentiana) of herbaceous plants with opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla, usually blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. See Illust. of Capsule.

Note: Many species are found on the highest mountains of Europe, Asia, and America, and some are prized for their beauty, as the Alpine (Gentiana verna, Bavarica, and excisa), and the American fringed gentians (G. crinita and G. detonsa). Several are used as tonics, especially the bitter roots of Gentiana lutea, the officinal gentian of the pharmacopoeias. Horse gentian, fever root.

– Yellow gentian (Bot.), the officinal gentian (Gentiana lutea). See Bitterwort.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition