reseda

[ ri-see-duh ]

/ rɪˈsi də /

noun

a grayish green.

adjective

grayish green, like the flowers of the mignonette.

Nearby words

reseau, resect, resectable, resection, resectoscope, reseda, reselect, resell, resemblance, resemblant, resemble

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for reseda

They are found in the market in short lengths and in such attractive colours as Delft blue, reseda green, pink, and catawba.
The Library of Work and Play: Home Decoration|Charles Franklin Warner
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.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 643, April 28, 1888|Various
Woad (Isatis tinctoria) and the dyers' yellow woad (Reseda lutea), are both well known.
The Commercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom|P. L. Simmonds

Eva threatens me with her parasol, and laughs, hiding her rosy face in a bouquet of reseda.
Hania|Henryk Sienkiewicz

British Dictionary definitions for reseda

reseda

/ (ˈrɛsɪdə) /

noun

any plant of the European genus Reseda, including mignonette and dyer's rocket, which has small spikes of grey-green flowers

adjective

of a greyish-green colour; mignonette

Word Origin for reseda

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