Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several bulbous Eurasian and African plants of the genus Scilla, having narrow leaves and cultivated for their bell-shaped blue, white, or pink flowers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A genus of liliaceous plants, type of the tribe Scilleæ.
  • noun [l. c] In the United States and British pharmacopœias, the sliced bulb of Urginea Scilla; squill. It is used in medicine as an expectorant and diuretic.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun botany A plant of the genus Scilla; a squill.
  • noun pharmacology A bulb of Urginea scilla.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an Old World plant of the genus Scilla having narrow basal leaves and pink or blue or white racemose flowers

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin Scilla, genus name, from Latin scilla, squill (Urginea maritima); see squill.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin scilla, from Ancient Greek σκίλλα.

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Examples

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  • any of a genus (Scilla) of Old World bulbous herbs of the lily family with narrow basal leaves and purple, blue, or white racemose flowers

    January 24, 2008

  • "Angelica sniffed the darkness. "Cigars."

    It could have been scillas for all Tonino cared."

    The Magicians of Caprona by Diana Wynne Jones, p 158

    March 15, 2014