n. [ OE. genciane, F. gentiane, L. gentiana, fr. Gentius, an Illyrian king, said to have discovered its properties. ] (Bot.) Any one of a genus (
☞ Many species are found on the highest mountains of Europe, Asia, and America, and some are prized for their beauty, as the Alpine (Gentiana verna, Gentiana Bavarica, and Gentiana excisa), and the American fringed gentians (Gentiana crinita and Gentiana detonsa). Several are used as tonics, especially the bitter roots of Gentiana lutea, the officinal gentian of the pharmacopoeias. [ 1913 Webster ]
Horse gentian,
Yellow gentian (Bot.),
prop. n. The type genus of the
prop. n. A natural family of chiefly herbaceous plants with showy flowers; some are cultivated as ornamentals.
a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to a natural family of plants (
prop. n. An order of plants including the
n. [ See Gentian. ] A kind of blue color. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]
a. Pertaining to or derived from the gentian;
n. (Chem.) A bitter, crystallizable substance obtained from gentian. [ 1913 Webster ]
n. (Chem.) A crystallizable, sugarlike substance, with a slightly sweetish taste, obtained from the gentian. [ 1913 Webster ]