whin

Noun
Synonyms: gorsefurzeIrish gorseUlex europaeuswoodwaxendyer's greenweeddyer's-broomdyeweedgreenweedwoadwaxenGenista tinctoriawhinstone

WordNet 3.0

Noun (3)

  1. very spiny and dense evergreen shrub with fragrant golden-yellow flowers; common throughout western EuropeSynonyms: gorsefurzeIrish gorseUlex europaeus
  2. small Eurasian shrub having clusters of yellow flowers that yield a dye; common as a weed in Britain and the United States; sometimes grown as an ornamentalSynonyms: woodwaxendyer's greenweeddyer's-broomdyeweedgreenweedwoadwaxenGenista tinctoria
  3. any of various hard colored rocks (especially rocks consisting of chert or basalt)Synonyms: whinstone
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

Furze \Furze\, n. [OE. firs, As. fyrs.] (Bot.) A thorny evergreen shrub (Ulex Europ[ae]us), with beautiful yellow flowers, very common upon the plains and hills of Great Britain; -- called also gorse, and whin. The dwarf furze is Ulex nanus. [1913 Webster]
Whin \Whin\, n. [W. chwyn weeds, a single weed.] [1913 Webster]

1.(Bot.) (a) Gorse; furze. See Furze. [1913 Webster]

Through the whins, and by the cairn. --Burns. [1913 Webster] (b) Woad-waxed.— Gray.[1913 Webster]

2.Same as Whinstone. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster]

Moor whin or Petty whin (Bot.), a low prickly shrub (Genista Anglica) common in Western Europe.

Whin bruiser, a machine for cutting and bruising whin, or furze, to feed cattle on.

Whin Sparrow (Zool.), the hedge sparrow. [Prov. Eng.]

Whin Thrush (Zool.), the redwing. [Prov. Eng.] [1913 Webster]

Woad-waxen \Woad"-wax`en\, n. [Cf. Wood-wax.] (Bot.) A leguminous plant (Genista tinctoria) of Europe and Russian Asia, and adventitious in America; -- called also greenwood, greenweed, dyer's greenweed, and whin, wood-wash, wood-wax, and wood-waxen. [1913 Webster]
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