alkanet

American  

[al-kuh-net] / ˈæl kəˌnɛt /

noun

1. a European plant, Alkanna tinctoria, of the borage family.

2. the root of this plant, yielding a red dye.

3. the dye itself.

4. any of several similar hairy plants, as the bugloss, Anchusa officinalis, or a puccoon of the genus Lithospermum.

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alkanet British  

/ ˈælkəˌnɛt /

noun

1. a European boraginaceous plant, Alkanna tinctoria, the roots of which yield a red dye

2. Also called: anchusin.   alkannin.  the dye obtained from this plant

3. any of certain hairy blue-flowered Old World plants of the boraginaceous genus Anchusa (or Pentaglottis ), such as A. sempervirens of Europe See also bugloss

4. another name for puccoon

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Etymology

Origin of alkanet

1300–50; Middle English < Old Spanish alcaneta, equivalent to alcan ( a ) henna (plant) (< Medieval Latin alchanna < Arabic al the + hinnā̉ henna) + -eta diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

For rosy cheeks, alkanet and cochineal roots were used as the basis for rouge.

From BBC • May 10, 2013

The plant is sometimes cultivated in Britain, chiefly on the east coast of England, but most of the alkanet of commerce is imported from the Levant or from southern France.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1 A to Amide by Various

A resinoid coloring matter obtained from alkanet root.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary by Webster, Noah

It is prepared by precipitating an alcoholic extract of the root of the Anchusa tinctoria, commonly known as alkanet, a plant growing in the Levant, and some other warm countries.

From Field's Chromatography or Treatise on Colours and Pigments as Used by Artists by Salter, Thomas

The antimony, too, with which she darkened them had gone, and with it the alkanet she had used on her cheeks.

From Mary Magdalen by Saltus, Edgar