melilot

American  

[mel-uh-lot] / ˈmɛl əˌlɒt /

noun

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

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melilot British  

/ ˈmɛlɪˌlɒt /

noun

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

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Etymology

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

Example Sentences

Great purple snapdragons hung from clefts in the rocks, inula flashed gorgeously yellow, white melilot raised its graceful drooping blossoms, and hemp-agrimony made the bees sing a drowsy song of the brimming cup of summer.

From Wanderings by southern waters, eastern Aquitaine by Barker, Edward Harrison

The whole plant smells of melilot; even after it has been dried and kept for years it does not lose this scent.

From The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise Its Habitat and its Time of Growth by Hard, Miron Elisha

In two or three species of tough Hydnum, there is a strong persistent odour somewhat like melilot or woodruffe, which does not pass away after the specimen has been dried for years.

From Fungi: Their Nature and Uses by Cooke, M. C. (Mordecai Cubitt)

Bushes of tall, white melilot, clustered with myriads of tiny flowers, exhale a sweet fragrance into the morning air.

From Some Summer Days in Iowa by Lazell, Frederick John

We have only to stretch out our hands as we lie to gather half a dozen spikes of lavender, wild thyme, rosemary, Deptford pink, melilot, blue pimpernel, and white scabious.

From The Roof of France by Betham-Edwards, Matilda