squill
/skwil/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- an Old World plant of the genus Scilla having narrow basal leaves and pink or blue or white racemose flowers
- having dense spikes of small white flowers and yielding a bulb with medicinal properties
- bulb of the sea squill, which is sliced, dried, and used as an expectorant