Hÿ'a-cinth, n.
n. [Lat. hyacinthus, Gr. ὑάκινθος, originally a beautiful Laconian youth, beloved by Apollo, who killed him by an unlucky cast of his quoit, from whose blood the flower of the same name is said to have sprung up; Fr. hyacinthe, Pr. jacint, Sp. & Pg. jacinto, It. giacinto, jacinto.]
Sense 1. (Bot.) (a.) A bulbous plant of the genus Hyacinthus, bearing beautiful spikes of fragrant flowers. H. orientalis is a common variety. (b.) A plant of the genus Scilla (S. Fraseri), called also Eastern quamash; wild hyacinth. The name is also given to S. Peruviana, an evergreen, one variety of which produces white, and another blue, flowers;—called also hyacinth of Peru.
Sense 2. (Min.) A red variety of zircon, sometimes used as a gem. See ZIRCON. Dana.
