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reseda

[ri-see-duh]
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noun
  1. a grayish green.
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adjective
  1. grayish green, like the flowers of the mignonette.
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Origin of reseda

1745–55 as name of plant genus including mignonette; 1870–75 for current senses; < New Latin: genus name, Latin resēda (according to Pliny, literally, heal! (imperative of resēdāre to heal, assuage), referring to the plant's use in treating tumors)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for reseda

Historical Examples

  • Weld, Reseda luteola, is an annual plant growing in waste places.

    Vegetable Dyes

    Ethel M. Mairet

  • The reseda, or mignonette, is planted from seed, as here in England.

  • Eva threatens me with her parasol, and laughs, hiding her rosy face in a bouquet of reseda.

    Hania

    Henryk Sienkiewicz

  • Bess looked beautifully charming in her well-fitted jacket and divided skirt of reseda green.

    The Brand

    Therese Broderick

  • Weld is the dried plant Reseda luteola, a species of wild mignonette, formerly largely cultivated in Europe.

British Dictionary definitions for reseda

reseda

noun
  1. any plant of the European genus Reseda, including mignonette and dyer's rocket, which has small spikes of grey-green flowers
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adjective
  1. of a greyish-green colour; mignonette
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Word Origin

C18: from New Latin, from Latin: heal! from resēdāre to assuage, from re- + sēdāre to soothe; see sedate ²
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