vetiver

[ vet-uh-ver ]

noun
  1. the long, fibrous, aromatic roots of an East Indian grass, Vetiveria zizanioides, used for making hangings and screens and yielding an oil used in perfumery.

  2. Also called khus-khus. the grass itself.

Origin of vetiver

1
First recorded in 1840–50, vetiver is from the Tamil word veṭṭivēr

Words Nearby vetiver

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use vetiver in a sentence

  • The women powder their hair with an odorous substance obtained from the berries of the vetiver.

  • She would go into ecstasies on breathing in the patchouli and vetiver used for Cashmere shawls.

    My Private Menagerie | Theophile Gautier

British Dictionary definitions for vetiver

vetiver

/ (ˈvɛtɪvə) /


noun
  1. a tall hairless grass, Vetiveria zizanioides, of tropical and subtropical Asia, having aromatic roots and stiff long narrow ornamental leaves

  2. the root of this plant used for making screens, mats, etc, and yielding a fragrant oil used in perfumery, medicine, etc

Origin of vetiver

1
C19: from French vétiver, from Tamil vettivẽru

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012