Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A climbing asparagus (Asparagus asparagoides) native to southern Africa, that has glossy foliage sometimes used in floral arrangements and that grows as a weed especially in Australia and New Zealand.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A genus of liliaceous plants, type of the tribe Smilaceæ.
- noun A plant of the genus Smilax.
- noun A delicate greenhouse vine from the Cape of Good Hope, best known as Myrsiphyllum aspa ragoides, now classed under Asparagus.
- noun In entomology, a genus of coleopterous insects.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A genus of perennial climbing plants, usually with a prickly woody stem; green brier, or cat brier. The rootstocks of certain species are the source of the medicine called sarsaparilla.
- noun A delicate trailing plant (
Myrsiphyllum asparagoides ) much used for decoration. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any member of the
Smilax genus ofgreenbriers .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun sometimes placed in Smilacaceae
- noun fragile twining plant of South Africa with bright green flattened stems and glossy foliage popular as a floral decoration
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Benito went ashore, to buy, if possible, a few bales of this smilax, which is always so much in demand in the markets of the
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The plant now under consideration is called, botanically, Myrsiphyllum asparagoides; by common usage it is called smilax, although not even a member of the true smilax family, some of which are natives of this country.
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Benito went ashore, to buy, if possible, a few bales of this smilax, which is always so much in demand in the markets of the Amazon.
Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon Jules Verne 1866
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(not the so-called smilax of florists), _Rubus laciniatus, _ dewberries, and also others that usually are not classed as vines.
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In addition, banana trees were placed around the room, and spheres of moss were suspended from the ceiling, dripping with smilax vines, purple orchids, and—of course—more monstera leaves.
My Fair Wedding David Tutera 2011
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We ate deep-pit-roasted elk, smoked turkey, smilax bread seasoned with juniper and bee weed, nut-bread patties, and blackberry cakes.
Fire The Sky W. Michael Gear 2011
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We ate deep-pit-roasted elk, smoked turkey, smilax bread seasoned with juniper and bee weed, nut-bread patties, and blackberry cakes.
Fire The Sky W. Michael Gear 2011
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She should have given me a look that would have roasted smilax bread.
Fire The Sky W. Michael Gear 2011
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She should have given me a look that would have roasted smilax bread.
Fire The Sky W. Michael Gear 2011
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The ceremony took place in the East Room, in front of one of the windows which was draped with cloth of gold rimmed with curtains, the whole being ornamented with ropes of smilax and Easter lilies.
Princess Alice: The Irrepressible Miss Roosevelt | Edwardian Promenade 2009
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One note: “smilax” is the common name of a variety of edible greenbriar that’s also called sarsaparilla.
Notable Sandwiches Special: 1909 Edition Talia Lavin 2022
chained_bear commented on the word smilax
"Place a thick napkin on a platter, put the ice upon this, cover the dish with parsley or smilax, and garnish with lemon."
—Susan Williams, Savory Suppers and Fashionable Feasts: Dining in Victorian America (New York: Pantheon Books, 1985), 234
May 4, 2010