hyacinth

From Middle English jacinth, partly from Old French jacincte, from Medieval Latin jacintus, and partly from Old English iacinþ, from Medieval Latin jacinthus, both from Latin hyacinthus, from Ancient Greek ὑάκινθος (huákinthos, “any of several dark blue flowers”), ultimately from a non-Indo-European Mediterranean language. Re-Latinized in the 16th century.

• IPA^(key): /ˈhaɪəsɪnθ/

• Audio (Southern England)

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hyacinth (plural hyacinths)

1. Any bulbous plant of the genus Hyacinthus, native to the Mediterranean and South Africa.
   • 1889, Mathilde Blind, “[Love in Exile. Song X.] ‘On Life’s Long Round’.”, in The Ascent of Man, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, stanza 1, page 177:

     On life's long round by chance I found / A dell impearled with dew, / Where hyacinths, gushing from the ground, / Lent to the earth heaven's native hue / Of holy blue.

2. A variety of zircon, ranging in color from brown, orange, reddish-brown and yellow; a jacinth.

• David Barthelmy (1997–2024) “Hyacinth”, in Webmineral Mineralogy Database.
• “hyacinth”, in Mindat.org‎, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, 2000–2024.