Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A widely cultivated plant, Linum usitatissimum, having pale blue flowers, seeds that yield linseed oil, and slender stems from which a textile fiber is obtained.
- noun The fine, light-colored textile fiber obtained from this plant.
- noun Any of various other plants of the genus Linum or of other genera in the family Linaceae.
- noun A pale grayish yellow.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To beat.
- To move quickly; “knock” about: as, to
flax round (to move about in a lively or energetic manner). - noun The common name for plants of the genus Linum and for the fiber obtained from the stems of L. usitatissimum.
- noun One of several plants of other genera, mostly resembling common flax, as the false or white flax (Camelina sativa), mountain flax (Polygala Senega), toadflax (Linaria vulgaris), New Zealand flax (Phormium tenax), which yields a strong fiber, and spurge-flax (Daphne Gnidium).
- noun The whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea: with reference to the material composing its nest.
- noun Canvas linen, made from flax, used for sailmaking.
- noun The field-cress or mithridate mustard, Lepidium campestre.
- noun In New Zealand, L. monogynum; also the New Zealand flax, Phormium tenax. See
Phormium . - noun Same as
Lewis's wild flax . - noun Same as
toad-flax . - noun Same as
false flax . - noun The garden tickseed or calliopsis, Coreopsis tinctoria.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A plant of the genus Linum, esp. the
L. usitatissimum , which has a single, slender stalk, about a foot and a half high, with blue flowers. The fiber of the bark is used for making thread and cloth, calledlinen ,cambric ,lawn ,lace , etc. Linseed oil is expressed from the seed. - noun The skin or fibrous part of the flax plant, when broken and cleaned by hatcheling or combing.
- noun (Min.) amianthus.
- noun a machine for removing the woody portion of flax from the fibrous.
- noun a hatchel, hackle, or heckle.
- noun the fiber of flax, reduced by steeping in bicarbonate of soda and acidulated liquids, and prepared for bleaching and spinning like cotton.
- noun one who breaks and swingles flax, or prepares it for the spinner.
- noun a mill or factory where flax is spun or linen manufactured.
- noun a machine for pulling flax plants in the field.
- noun [Obs.], [Obs.] A prostitute.
- noun (Min.) amianthus.
- noun (Bot.) See
Flax-plant .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A plant of the genus
Linum , especially Linum usitatissimum, which has a single, slender stalk, about a foot and a half high, with blue flowers. Also known aslinseed , especially when referring to the seeds. - noun The
fibers of Linum usitatissimum, grown to makelinen and related textiles. - noun A plant of the genus Phormium, native to New Zealand, with strap-like leaves up to 3 metres long that grow in clumps called flax bushes.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabric
- noun plant of the genus Linum that is cultivated for its seeds and for the fibers of its stem
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"The evidence for some kind of massive programmed rearrangement upon environmental induction in flax is unequivocal," he writes, "but inheritance of acquired changes has been an anathema to evolutionary biologists ever since Darwin's time."
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Ms. Moskowitz has published recipes in which, in lieu of eggs, flax seeds are ground into meal, then blended with water to form what she calls "flax goop."
Is That Cupcake Vegan or Just Butter- and Egg-Free? Katy McLaughlin 2011
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She said originally, in 1999, her coach gave her what he described as flax seed oil.
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"As well might you bid Madam Toad to spin flax without her distaff."
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'As well might you bid Madam Toad to spin flax without her distaff.'
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My flax is spun, my wheel is hushed, and so I wait the morrow.
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Shure I know that flax is grown to make linen wid, not to feed oxen.
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Name one farm commodity from kumquats to radishes, from cotton to flax, that isn't grossly overproduced.
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Each member of the family has a pallet of coarse cloth stuffed with fluffy flax, which is placed at night on the floor, on benches, on part of the top of the huge stone or brick stove, or on a platform laid close up under the ceiling on beams extending from the stove to the opposite wall of the living-room.
The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki Campaigning in North Russia 1918-1919 Harry H. Mead
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The country is small, but every part of the land is made fertile by the industry of the farmers, of whom there are a great number; many of them grow flax, which is woven into linen by the women.
The World's Fair Anonymous
treeseed commented on the word flax
A plant with fern-like airy, lacy foliage and small blue flowers
January 24, 2008