Lav"en*der (?), n. [OE. lavendre, F. lavande, It. lavanda lavender, a washing, fr. L. lavare to wash; cf. It. lsavendola, LL. lavendula. So called because it was used in bathing and washing. See Lave. to wash, and cf. Lavender.]
1. Bot.
An aromatic plant of the genus Lavandula (L. vera), common in the south of Europe. It yields and oil used in medicine and perfumery. The Spike lavender (L. Spica) yields a coarser oil (oil of spike), used in the arts.
2.
The pale, purplish color of lavender flowers, paler and more delicate than lilac.
Lavender cotton Bot., a low, twiggy, aromatic shrub (Santolina Chamaecyparissus) of the Mediterranean region, formerly used as a vermifuge, etc., and still used to keep moths from wardrobes. Also called ground cypress. -- Lavender water, a perfume composed of alcohol, essential oil of lavender, essential oil of bergamot, and essence of ambergris. -- Sea lavender. Bot. See Marsh rosemary. -- To lay in lavender. (a) To lay away, as clothing, with sprigs of lavender. (b) To pawn. [Obs.]
© Webster 1913.