Definition

1. Noun:
   • A plant of the genus Scilla: An Old World plant characterized by narrow basal leaves and racemose flowers that are typically pink, blue, or white.
   • A medicinal bulb: Specifically, the bulb of the sea squill (Urginea maritima or Drimia maritima), which is sliced, dried, and used medicinally, primarily as an expectorant to help clear mucus from the airways.
   • A plant with dense flower spikes: A plant yielding a bulb with medicinal properties, having dense spikes of small white flowers.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The blue squill is one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring.
  • Traditional medicine sometimes uses powdered squill to treat coughs.
  • The herbalist prepared a tincture from dried squill.

Advanced Usage

• "Sea squill": A specific reference to , the coastal plant whose bulb is the primary source of the medicinal squill.
  • The sea squill grows on rocky coastlines around the Mediterranean.

Variants and Related Words

• Scilla (n): The botanical genus name for many plants commonly called squill or bluebell.
• Squill-fish (n): A term for a small crustacean; note this is a different meaning from the plant.
• Squillitic (adj, rare): Pertaining to or derived from squill.

Synonyms

• Sea onion: A common name for the sea squill ().
• Mediterranean squill: Another name specifying the plant's region.
• Expectorant bulb: A descriptive term highlighting its primary medicinal use.

Related Phrases

• "Dried squill": The processed form of the bulb used in pharmacology.
  • The recipe calls for an extract of dried squill.

Notes on Meaning

The term "squill" primarily refers to the plant and its medicinal bulb. The reference to "squill-fish" is a distinct, homographic term for a crustacean and is not related to the botanical definition. In botanical and pharmacological contexts, "squill" almost exclusively means the plant, particularly the sea squill.

Noun

1. an Old World plant of the genus Scilla having narrow basal leaves and pink or blue or white racemose flowers
2. having dense spikes of small white flowers and yielding a bulb with medicinal properties
3. bulb of the sea squill, which is sliced, dried, and used as an expectorant