alkanet

American  

[al-kuh-net] / ˈæl kəˌnɛt /

noun

1. a European plant, Alkanna tinctoria, of the borage family.

2. the root of this plant, yielding a red dye.

3. the dye itself.

4. any of several similar hairy plants, as the bugloss, Anchusa officinalis, or a puccoon of the genus Lithospermum.

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alkanet British  

/ ˈælkəˌnɛt /

noun

1. a European boraginaceous plant, Alkanna tinctoria, the roots of which yield a red dye

2. Also called: anchusin.   alkannin.  the dye obtained from this plant

3. any of certain hairy blue-flowered Old World plants of the boraginaceous genus Anchusa (or Pentaglottis ), such as A. sempervirens of Europe See also bugloss

4. another name for puccoon

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Etymology

Origin of alkanet

1300–50; Middle English < Old Spanish alcaneta, equivalent to alcan ( a ) henna (plant) (< Medieval Latin alchanna < Arabic al the + hinnā̉ henna) + -eta diminutive suffix

Example Sentences

For rosy cheeks, alkanet and cochineal roots were used as the basis for rouge.

From BBC • May 10, 2013

Olive oil one pound, attar of roses fifty drops, oil of rosemary twenty-five drops; mix, and color it with alkanet root.

From The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) Cooking, Toilet and Household Recipes, Menus, Dinner-Giving, Table Etiquette, Care of the Sick, Health Suggestions, Facts Worth Knowing, Etc., Etc. The Whole Comprising a Comprehensive Cyclopedia of Information for the Home by Gillette, F. L. (Fanny Lemira)

Cochineal is turned by the potassa to a violet-red, orchil to a violet-blue, and alkanet to a decided blue.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 363, December 16, 1882 by Various

The ancients deemed this plant one of the four "cordial flowers," for cheering the spirits, the others being the rose, violet, and alkanet.

From Men and Women by Porter, Charlotte Endymion

Both the above articles are sold either white or colored with alkanet root.

From The Art of Perfumery And Methods of Obtaining the Odors of Plants by Piesse, George William Septimus