flax


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flax
Linum usitatissimum

flax

 (flăks)
n.
1.
a. A widely cultivated plant, Linum usitatissimum, having pale blue flowers, seeds that yield linseed oil, and slender stems from which a textile fiber is obtained.
b. The fine, light-colored textile fiber obtained from this plant.
c. Any of various other plants of the genus Linum or of other genera in the family Linaceae.
2. A pale grayish yellow.

[Middle English, from Old English fleax; see plek- in Indo-European roots.]

flax′y adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

flax

(flæks)
n
1. (Plants) any herbaceous plant or shrub of the genus Linum, esp L. usitatissimum, which has blue flowers and is cultivated for its seeds (flaxseed) and for the fibres of its stems: family Linaceae
2. (Plants) the fibre of this plant, made into thread and woven into linen fabrics
3. (Plants) any of various similar plants
4. (Plants) Also called: harakeke NZ a swamp plant producing a fibre that is used by Māoris for decorative work, baskets, etc
[Old English fleax; related to Old Frisian flax, Old High German flahs flax, Greek plekein to plait]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

flax

(flæks)

n.
1. any plant of the genus Linum, family Linaceae, esp. L. usitatissimum, a slender annual with blue flowers that is cultivated for its fiber, used for making linen yarn, and for its seeds, which yield linseed oil.
2. the fiber of this plant.
3. any of various plants resembling flax.
[before 900; Middle English; Old English fleax]
flax′y, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.flax - fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabricflax - fiber of the flax plant that is made into thread and woven into linen fabric
linen - a fabric woven with fibers from the flax plant
plant fiber, plant fibre - fiber derived from plants
2.flax - plant of the genus Linum that is cultivated for its seeds and for the fibers of its stem
herb, herbaceous plant - a plant lacking a permanent woody stem; many are flowering garden plants or potherbs; some having medicinal properties; some are pests
genus Linum, Linum - a herbaceous plant genus of the family Linaceae with small sessile leaves
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
lli
len
lan
len
linum
linas
in
lin

flax

[flæks]
A. N (Bot) → lino m
B. CPD flax seed Nlinaza f
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

flax

[ˈflæks] nlin m
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

flax

n (Bot) → Flachs m
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

flax

[flæks] nlino
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in classic literature ?
The most trying ordeal that I was forced to endure as a slave boy, however, was the wearing of a flax shirt.
The Owl next advised them to pluck up the seed of the flax, which men had sown, as it was a plant which boded no good to them.
One evening, when she was spinning flax, and had worked her little white hands weary, she heard a rustling beside her and a cry of joy.
This time he went to the little seaport town of Irvine to learn flax dressing.
{Linum Usitatissimum = Linum usitatissimum (Cooper's capitalization varies) is the botanical name for the variety of flax from which linen is made}
The country in general was destitute of trees, but they passed through groves of wormwood, eight and ten feet in height, which they used occasionally for fuel, and they met with large quantities of wild flax.
One evening he tied two cats together by their hind legs with a string about six feet in length, and threw them from the wall into the midst of that noble, that princely, that royal bed, which contained not only the "Cornelius de Witt," but also the "Beauty of Brabant," milk-white, edged with purple and pink, the "Marble of Rotterdam," colour of flax, blossoms feathered red and flesh colour, the "Wonder of Haarlem," the "Colombin obscur," and the "Columbin clair terni."
Pullet continued, shaking her head and looking at her sister Tulliver, "when you and me chose the double diamont, the first flax iver we'd spun, and the Lord knows where yours is gone."
A strapping, ruddy girl was beating flax or some such stuff in a little bit of a good-box of a barn, and she swung her flail with a will--if it was a flail; I was not farmer enough to know what she was at; a frowsy, barelegged girl was herding half a dozen geese with a stick--driving them along the lane and keeping them out of the dwellings; a cooper was at work in a shop which I know he did not make so large a thing as a hogshead in, for there was not room.
Owing to the high combustibility of both the flax and the tar to which it adhered, the dwarf had scarcely made an end of his brief speech before the work of vengeance was complete.
In about the time it takes to spin a quarter of a handful of flax, be returns with a beautiful young girl, a doll who would have shone like the sun had she been coiffed.
Her hair is still like flax, and her blue eyes are just like a baby's, and she has the same three freckles on her little nose, and talks about going back to her bains de mer."