smilax

[ smahy-laks ]

/ ˈsmaɪ læks /

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noun

any plant belonging to the genus Smilax, of the lily family, growing in tropical and temperate zones, consisting mostly of vines having woody stems.

a delicate, twining plant, Asparagus asparagoides, of the lily family, having glossy, bright-green, egg-shaped leaves, cultivated by florists.

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Origin of smilax

1595–1605; <Latin smīlax bindweed <Greek smîlax bindweed, yew

Words nearby smilax

smew, SMH, smidge, smidgen, smilacaceous, smilax, smile, smile on, Smiles, smiley, smilodon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use smilax in a sentence

This insect is larger than P. smilax, but resembles it extremely in its upper side.
Narrative of a Survey of the Intertropical and Western Coasts of Australia] [Volume 2 of 2]|Phillip Parker King
One was made of smilax and pink roses; the other a small wreath of evergreens with a silver bell fastened to it.
The Automobile Girls in the Berkshires|Laura Dent Crane
Their hats were adorned with trailing wreaths of smilax, and about their shoulders were garlands of carnations.
The Honorable Percival|Alice Hegan Rice
The altar was a mass of bridal roses under an immense trellis of trailing smilax.
What Will People Say?|Rupert Hughes

Off in one of the corners, have a cut-glass bowl filled with punch and around it a ring of smilax.
Suppers|Paul Pierce

British Dictionary definitions for smilax

smilax

/ (ˈsmaɪlæks) /

noun

any typically climbing shrub of the smilacaceous genus Smilax, of warm and tropical regions, having slightly lobed leaves, small greenish or yellow flowers, and berry-like fruits: includes the sarsaparilla plant and greenbrier

a fragile, much branched liliaceous vine, Asparagus asparagoides, of southern Africa: cultivated by florists for its glossy bright green foliage

Word Origin for smilax

C17: via Latin from Greek: bindweed

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