moschatel

[mos-kuh-tel, mos-kuh-tel]

noun

1. a small plant, Adoxa moschatellina, having greenish or yellowish flowers with a musky odor.

moschatel

/ ˌmɒskəˈtɛl /

noun

1. Also called: townhall clock.  five-faced bishop. a small N temperate plant, Adoxa moschatellina, with greenish-white musk-scented flowers on top of the stem, arranged as four pointing sideways at right angles to each other and one facing upwards: family Adoxaceae

Word History and Origins

Origin of moschatel¹

1725–35; < French moscatelle < Italian moscatella, equivalent to moscat ( o ) musk + -ella -elle; -h- from botanical name

Word History and Origins

Origin of moschatel¹

C18: via French from Italian moscatella, diminutive of moscato _musk

Example Sentences

He knows his botany, so when describing the hidden entrance to the holloway he is able to list the guardian plants with great exactness: between the snaking tree roots he spots "the umbrals: hart's tongue fern, shining cranesbill, ivy, and moschatel, the lover of shade".

Read more on The Guardian

Moschatel, mos′ka-tel, n. a plant with pale-green flowers and a musky smell.

Read more on Project Gutenberg