1.
[syn: hyacinth bean, bonavist, Indian bean, Egyptian bean, Lablab purpureus, Dolichos lablab]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Hyacinth \Hy"a*cinth\, n. [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. ?, ?: 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.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Min.) A red variety of zircon, sometimes used as a gem.
See Zircon.
[1913 Webster]
Hyacinth bean (Bot.), a climbing leguminous plant
(Dolichos Lablab), related to the true bean. It has dark
purple flowers and fruit.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
hyacinth bean
n 1: perennial twining vine of Old World tropics having
trifoliate leaves and racemes of fragrant purple pea-like
flowers followed by maroon pods of edible seeds; grown as
an ornamental and as a vegetable on the Indian
subcontinent; sometimes placed in genus Dolichos [syn:
hyacinth bean, bonavist, Indian bean, Egyptian
bean, Lablab purpureus, Dolichos lablab]