linum

American  

[lahy-nuhm] / ˈlaɪ nəm /

noun

1. any of numerous plants of the genus Linum, including flax, L. usitatissimum, and various other species grown as ornamentals.

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linum British  

/ ˈlaɪnəm /

noun

1. any plant of the annual or perennial genus Linum, of temperate regions, esp L. grandiflorum, from N Africa, cultivated for its showy red or blue flowers: family Linaceae See also flax

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Etymology

Origin of linum

< New Latin (Linnaeus); Latin līnum flax

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

linum

Linen means cloth of flax; hence its derivation from the Latin word linum, flax.

From A Catechism of Familiar Things; Their History, and the Events Which Led to Their Discovery. With a Short Explanation of Some of the Principal Natural Phenomena. For the Use of Schools and Families. Enlarged and Revised Edition. by Anonymous

She has a dairy, and distaffs, for lac, linum, et lanam, and is become a very Sabine.

From Selected English Letters (XV - XIX Centuries) by Wragg, H.

Even on this splintered ridge, at a height of 8000 feet, there were tulips, celery in blossom, mullein, roses, legions of the Fritillaria imperialis, anemones, blue linum, and a wealth of alpine plants.

From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)

The word "flax" is derived from filare, to spin, or, filum, a thread; and the botanical title, linum, is got from the Celtic lin also signifying thread.

From Herbal Simples Approved for Modern Uses of Cure by Fernie, William Thomas

At a meeting of the Royal Society in 1676 a merchant from China exhibited a handkerchief of “salamander’s wool,” or linum asbesti.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various