Forms: 3–6 lavendre, 5 lavendere, 6–7 lavander, 6– lavender. Also 6 Sc. lavand. [a. AF. lavendre (OF. *lavandre, whence mod. Prov. alebandro) for *lavendle:—med.L. lavendula, also lavandula, livendula, livendola (10–11th c. in Goetz, Corp. Gll. Latin., III. 629/5), levindola, lavindula; cf. It. lavendola (Diez; not in Dicts.), Sp. lavándula (in Dicts. only as a botanical name); also F. lavande (cited from Christine de Pisan, 14–15th c.), It., Sp. lavanda. The med.L. lavendula was taken into OHG. or early MHG. as lavendla (in MSS. of 12th c.; see Ahd. Glossen, III. 105), whence MHG. and early mod.G. lavendel(e, lobendel, lobengele, laubangel, lavandel, lavander, lafander; the standard form in Ger., Du., Sw., Da. is now lavendel.
The current hypothesis is that med.L. lavendula is a corrupt form of lavandula, a dim. of the shorter word which appears in It. as lavanda (see above). This is commonly identified with It. lavanda ‘washing,’ the supposition being that the name refers to the use of the plant either for perfuming baths (so already in 16th-c. writers) or as laid among freshly washed linen (see 2 below). But on the ground of sense-development this does not seem plausible; a word literally meaning ‘washing’ would hardly without change of form come to denote a non-essential adjunct to washing. Besides, the earliest form appears to be livendula; if this could be connected with L. līvēre to be livid or bluish, the sense would be appropriate, but the formation is obscure; M. Paul Meyer suggests, as a possibility, that the original form may have been *līvindula for *līvidula, f. līvidus LIVID. (A med.L. word of about the same date and of app. similar form is calendula marigold). It is not certain that the word has not changed its application, as in early glosses livendula, lavendula, are given as synonymous with samsucus and amaracus, which properly mean ‘marjoram’; but plant-names were applied often very loosely. The It. lavanda, F. lavande, would seem to be a back-formation from med.L. lavandula.]
A. sb.
1. The plant Lavandula vera (N.O. Labiatæ), a small shrub with small pale lilac-colored flowers, and narrow oblong or lanceolate leaves; it is a native of the south of Europe and Northern Africa, but cultivated extensively in other countries for its perfume. Also applied, usually with defining word, to the two other species of Lavandula, L. Spica (distinguished as French lavender and † Lavender spike), and L. Stœchas (formerly † Lavender gentle).
Oil of lavender, the essential oil obtained by distillation of the blossoms of L. vera, used in medicine and perfumery. An inferior kind is obtained from the two other species, and is used in making varnishes and for other industrial purposes; that from L. Spica is called ‘oil of spike.’
c. 1265. Voc. Plants, in Wr.-Wülcker, 557/9. Lauendula, lauendre.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 290/1. Lavendere, herbe, Lavendula.
c. 1450. Alphita (Anecd. Oxon.), 92/1. Lavendula, gall. et angl. lauendre.
1530. Palsgr., 237/2. Lavendre an herbe, lauende.
1538. Turner, Libellus, Lavender, pseudo- … nardus.
c. 1550. Lloyd, Treas. Health (1585), Lj. Take of lauender gentle .ʓ. & a half.
1570. Satir. Poems Reform., xv. 9. Thow Lauand, lurk; thow time, be tint; Thow Margelene, swaif.
1573. Baret, Alv., Lauander … lauendula.
1577. B. Googe, Heresbach’s Husb. (1586), 66. Lavender is called in Latine Lavanda or Lavendula.
1578. Lyte, Dodoens, II. lxxxvi. 264. Lauender is of two sortes, male and female.
1597. Gerarde, Herbal, II. clxxix. (1633), 584. Lavender Spike is called in Latine Lavendula.
1611. Shaks., Wint. T., IV. iv. 104. Here’s flowres for you: Hot Lauender, Mints, Sauory, mariorum.
a. 1677. Hale, Prim. Orig. Man., III. vi. 280. The Seeds of Lavander kept a little warm and moist, will turn into Moths.
1751. Hill, Hist. Mat. Med., 424. Lavender has at all times been famous as a cephalic, nervous, and uterine medicine.
1796. C. Marshall, Garden., xvi. (1813), 268. Lavender … is for its pleasant aromatic scent found in most gardens.
1859. Gullick & Timbs, Paint., 209. The English oil of lavender, or the inferior foreign oil of spike (a larger species of lavender), is preferred in enamel painting.
b. Applied to certain other plants. Sea Lavender, Statice Limonium; also called † Marsh Lavender (obs.), Lavender Thrift. † Lavender of Spain = LAVENDER COTTON.
1530. Palsgr., 237/2. Lavendre of Spaygne, cipres.
1597. Gerarde, Herbal, II. lxxxvii. § 2. 333. The people neere the sea side where it groweth do call it Marsh Lauander, and Sea Lauander.
1760. J. Lee, Introd. Bot., App. 316. Sea Lavender, Statice.
1837. Macgillivray, Withering’s Brit. Plants (ed. 4), 154. S[tatice] Limonium, Lavender Thrift.
2. The flowers and stalks of Lavandula vera, placed among linen or other clothes in order to preserve them from moths when they are to be stored for some time. To lay (up) in lavender. (a) to lay aside carefully for future use; (b) slang, to pawn; (c) to put out of the way of doing harm, as a person by imprisoning him or the like.
1584. Stanford Churchw. Acc., in Antiquary, XVII. 210/1. It. lavender for the churche clothes.
1589. Nashe, Pref. Greene’s Menaphon (Arb.), 8. Bought at the deerest though they smell of the friplers lauander halfe a yeere after.
1592. Greene, Upst. Courtier (1871), 34. He is ready to lend the loser money upon rings … or any other good pawn, but the poor gentleman pays so dear for the lavender it is laid up in, that [etc.].
1605. Chapman, etc., Eastw. Ho., G 2. Good faith rather then thou shouldest pawne a rag more il’e lay my ladiship in lauender, If I knew where.
1628. Earle, Microcosm., Yng. rawe Preacher (Arb.), 23. He … ha’s a iest still in lauender for Bellarmine.
a. 1639. Wotton, Lett. to Walton, in Reliq. (1651), 512. Yours hath lyen so long by me (as it were in lavender) without an answer.
1648. Petit. East. Assoc., 9. It is the duty of a State to lay him [the king] solemnly in such kind of Lavender as grows in the 27 of Deuteronomy.
a. 1700. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, Layd-up-in Lavender, when any Cloaths or other Moveables are pawn’d or dipt for present Money.
1822. Scott, Nigel, xxiii. Lowestoffe is laid up in lavender only for having shown you the way into Alsatia. Ibid. (1826), Mal. Malagr., ii. The ornaments are redeemed from the pawn-brokers, worn perhaps on the Sunday, and returned to lavender (as the phrase goes) on the next Monday.
1858. Thackeray, Virgin., I. xxxiii. 258. What woman … has not the bridal-favours and raiment stowed away, and packed in lavender, in the inmost cupboards of her heart?
1888. Academy, 18 Feb., 111/3. The old maid … with her little romance carefully preserved in the lavender of memory.
3. The color of lavender-flowers, a very pale blue with a trace of red.
1882. Garden, 16 Dec., 533/3. Chrysanthemums,… Fée Rageuse, a large recurved flower … colour white tinted with lavender.
1886. Fenn, Master Ceremonies, i. They were of richest purple, fading into lavender and grey.
4. attrib. and Comb., as lavender-growing; lavender-blue, -brown, -grey, -scented adjs.; lavender-sugar, a sweetmeat medicated with lavender.
1796. Kirwan, Elem. Min. (ed. 2), I. 28. *Lavender blue—blue with a mixture of grey, and a shade of red.
1813. Sketches Charac. (ed. 2), I. 218. Spangled crape petticoat, with *lavender brown train.
1834. Mrs. Somerville, Connex. Phys. Sci., xix. (1849), 181. Visible rays of a *lavender grey colour.
1900. Daily News, 29 Aug., 5/1. Some persons find *lavender-growing very profitable.
1871. M. Collins, Mrq. & Merch., I. ii. 60. Linen *lavender-scented.
1810. Splendid Follies, I. 19. Hand *lavender-sugar to the old man.
B. adj. Of the color of lavender-flowers (see A. 3). Also in Comb.
1882. Garden, 20 May, 354/3. Clematises … with flowers of a delicate lavender shade.
1883. Congregationalist, Nov., 900. He moved on, with springy step, wearing lavender kid gloves.
1890. ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Col. Reformer (1891), 162. The lavender-kid-wearing tribe of modern youth.
1897. Mary Kingsley, W. Africa, 341. Obanjo evidently thought him too much of a lavender-kid-glove gentleman to deal with bush trade.
