# lavender

Pronunciation: US say "LAV-uhn-dur" /ˈlæv.ən.dɚ/; UK say "LAV-uhn-duh" /ˈlæv.ən.də/

## Noun

1. Any of a group of European shrubs of the genus Lavandula, in the mint family, known for fragrant purple flowers.
   - Simple: A small bushy plant with purple flowers and a sweet, strong smell.
   - _Bees crowded the lavender growing beside the old stone wall._
   - _Farmers across Provence harvest lavender for its fragrant oil each summer._
2. A pale bluish purple, like the color of the lavender flower.
   - Simple: A light purple color with a touch of blue, like the lavender flower.
   - _The bridesmaids wore dresses in a delicate lavender._
   - _Morning light washed the snowy fields in lavender and gray._
7. A fine-grain positive film stock used in film duplication to produce a print from a negative, from which further duplicate negatives could be made.
   - Simple: A type of film once used to make positive copies from negatives when copying movies.
   - _The technician struck a lavender from the camera negative before making release prints._
   - _Archivists found a faded reel of lavender that had preserved an otherwise lost cut._

## Adjective

3. Of a pale purple color.
   - Simple: Having a light purple color.
   - _Thin lavender clouds stretched across the evening sky._
   - _He chose a lavender tie to match the invitation._
4. Relating to LGBT people and the movement for their rights.
   - Simple: Relating to LGBT people and the fight for their equal rights.
   - _Activists built a lavender coalition ahead of the local election._
   - _The campus celebrates a lavender graduation each year for its LGBT students._
5. Relating to lesbian feminism, especially its opposition to heterosexism.
   - Simple: Relating to lesbian feminism and its stand against treating only straight relationships as normal.
   - _Her essays drew heavily on lavender feminist thought from the 1970s._
   - _The collective described itself as lavender and feminist in its founding statement._

## Verb

6. To scent or decorate something with lavender.
   - Simple: To add lavender to something so it smells sweet or looks nice.
   - _The maids would lavender the bed sheets to keep them fresh._
   - _She likes to lavender her drawers with sprigs from the garden._

## Origin

From Middle English lavendre, from Anglo-Norman lavendre (French lavande), from Medieval Latin lavendula. It possibly derives from Latin lividus ('bluish'), but was influenced by lavō ('wash') because lavender was used in washing clothes.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/lavender (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).