syringa

[ suh-ring-guh ]

noun

1. mock orange ( def 1 ).
2. any shrub or tree of the genus Syringa, including the lilacs.

syringa

/ sɪˈrɪŋɡə /

noun

1. another name for mock orange lilac

Word History and Origins

Origin of syringa¹

1655–65; < New Latin < Greek sȳring- (stem of sŷrinx syrinx ) + New Latin -a -a ²; name first given to mock orange, the stems of which were used in pipe-making

Word History and Origins

Origin of syringa¹

C17: from New Latin, from Greek surinx tube, alluding to the use of its hollow stems for pipes

Example Sentences

There’s a California lilac — not the true syringa lilac of rhapsodic song and poetry but a ceanothus.

From Los Angeles Times

I also come across a fragrantly flowering wild syringa, filling the air with orange-blossom sweetness.

From Seattle Times

The poem recalled Dr. Crozier as a bald, bigheaded boy who waged war with syringa berries, “the stick-breaker, the toddler I carried on my shoulders up and down the dirt tracks.”

From New York Times

It stands at the end of the drive leading out past the blooming syringas and a great bed of vari-colored peonies to the street.

From Project Gutenberg

I saw a few sickly fruit-trees that appeared dying for lack of moisture; and some enterprising citizens were able to make a show of lilacs, syringas, pinks, and geraniums in their front yards.

From Project Gutenberg