Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A poisonous Eurasian ornamental shrub (Daphne mezereum) having fragrant lilac-purple flowers and small scarlet fruit.
- noun The dried bark of this plant, formerly used for medicinal purposes.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An Old World shrub, Daphne Mezereum. See cut under
Daphne .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A small European shrub (
Daphne Mezereum ), whose acrid bark is used in medicine.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun An
ornamental shrub , Daphne mezereum, having purple flowers and bright red fruit. - noun The dried
bark of this plant, once used as avesicant .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun small European deciduous shrub with fragrant lilac-colored flowers followed by red berries on highly toxic twigs
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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There followeth, for the latter part of January and February, the mezereon – tree, which then blossoms; crocus vernus, both the yellow and the grey; primroses; anemones; the early tulippa; hyacinthus orientalis; chamairis; fritellaria.
The Essays 2007
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So that when in February there came a blue, bright morning, the morning that suggests yellow crocuses and the smell of a mezereon tree and the smell of damp, warm earth, Daphne hastily got a taxi and drove out to the hospital.
The Ladybird 2003
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It is still very cold, but the days are longer, and there is the yellow crocus coming up, and the mezereon tree is in blossom, and there are some white snow-drops peeping up their little heads.
Harry's Ladder to Learning Anonymous
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There followeth, for the latter part of January and February, the mezereon-tree, which then blossoms; crocus vernus, 3 both the yellow and the grey; primroses; anemones; the early tulippa; hyacinthus orientalis; chamairis; fritellaria.
XLVI. Of Gardens 1909
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The little gardens were bright with daffodils, mezereon, and flowering currant.
A Popular Schoolgirl Angela Brazil 1907
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But when I looked lower down, there was a sweeter message still, for the mezereon was awake, with its tiny porcelain crimson flowers and its minute leaves of bright green, budding as I think Aaron's rod must have budded, the very crust of the sprig bursting into little flames of green and red.
Escape, and Other Essays Arthur Christopher Benson 1893
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The singular situation of this romantic spot invited me to remain in it till the sun was about to sink on the horizon: during which time I visited every little cave delved in the ridges of rock, and gathered large sprigs of the mezereon and rhododendron in full bloom, which, with a surprising variety of other plants, carpeted this lovely glen.
Dreams Waking Thoughts and Incidents Beckford, William 1891
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Columbine, which is a wild plant with blue or white flowers, as well as a domesticated one, has a toxic principle like that of the monkshood, more especially in the seeds; and the pretty red berries of the mezereon are responsible for the deaths or illness of children nearly every autumn.
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Among other plants which may cause serious mischief, but are seldom suspected, are such harmless-looking flowers as the meadowsweet, herb-paris, the common fool's-parsley, found growing in quantities in the gardens of unlet houses and neglected ground which has been in cultivation, mezereon, columbine, and laburnum.
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When applied to the skin, it blisters like mezereon.
she commented on the word mezereon
(formerly also Dutch mezereon)
August 6, 2008