alyssum
Americannoun
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any of various plants belonging to the genus Alyssum, of the mustard family, having clusters of small yellow or white flowers.
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any of several related plants of the genus Aurinia, as A. saxatilis, a widely cultivated species with yellow flowers.
noun
Etymology
Origin of alyssum
1545–55; < New Latin; Latin alysson < Greek, neuter of ályssos curing (canine) madness, equivalent to a- a- 6 + lýss ( a ) madness + -os adj. suffix
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The author is a big fan of planting flowers among your vegetables, like carpeting edges of growing beds with flowering alyssum and interplanting cosmos, snapdragons and zinnias to promote biodiversity and support pollinators.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
“This is infuriating, not to mention peacocks have destroyed my garden and eaten all my azaleas, sweet alyssum and bugambilias.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2023
Sorin also suggests alyssum, forget-me-nots and bachelor’s buttons.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 10, 2022
Some just need to be replaced as the hot weeks wear on: The alyssum around the eyes, for example, might be replaced with vinca, or the bidens under the handles substituted for yellow flowering lantana.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 11, 2018
The metal cover he now pushed aside had buckled in the fire and was overgrown by alyssum.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
