melilot

[mel-uh-lot]

noun

a cloverlike plant of the genus Melilotus, of the legume family, grown as a forage plant.

Origin of melilot

before 1150; Middle English mellilot < Latin melilōtos < Greek melílōtos a clover, equivalent to méli honey + lōtós lotus; replacing late Old English milotis < Latin, as above

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for melilot

Historical Examples of melilot

Melilot is good in salves and ointments for swellings and inflammations.
Mrs. Hale's Receipts for the Million
Sarah Josepha Hale
Lucerne and melilot, both seemingly the common European species, were very plentiful.
Western Himalaya and Tibet
Thomas Thomson
Melilot, mel′i-lot, n. a genus of clover-like plants with white or yellow flowers and a peculiar sweet odour.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M)
Various
Melilot, a genus of clover-like plants of the natural order of Leguminose.
The Master of Game
Second Duke of York, Edward
And when thou art come to Melilot set thy share beneath the roots of her feet, and take her up to me out of the ground.
The Field of Clover
Laurence Housman

British Dictionary definitions for melilot

melilot

noun

any leguminous plant of the Old World genus Melilotus, having narrow clusters of small white or yellow fragrant flowersAlso called: sweet clover

Word Origin for melilot

C15: via Old French from Latin melilōtos, from Greek: sweet clover, from meli honey + lōtos lotus

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