Sweet bay

Sweet bay
Sweet Sweet, a. [Compar. {Sweeter}; superl. {Sweetest}.] [OE. swete, swote, sote, AS. sw[=e]te; akin to OFries. sw[=e]te, OS. sw[=o]ti, D. zoet, G. s["u]ss, OHG. suozi, Icel. s[ae]tr, s[oe]tr, Sw. s["o]t, Dan. s["o]d, Goth. suts, L. suavis, for suadvis, Gr. ?, Skr. sv[=a]du sweet, svad, sv[=a]d, to sweeten. [root]175. Cf. {Assuage}, {Suave}, {Suasion}.] 1. Having an agreeable taste or flavor such as that of sugar; saccharine; -- opposed to sour and bitter; as, a sweet beverage; sweet fruits; sweet oranges. [1913 Webster]

2. Pleasing to the smell; fragrant; redolent; balmy; as, a sweet rose; sweet odor; sweet incense. [1913 Webster]

The breath of these flowers is sweet to me. --Longfellow. [1913 Webster]

3. Pleasing to the ear; soft; melodious; harmonious; as, the sweet notes of a flute or an organ; sweet music; a sweet voice; a sweet singer. [1913 Webster]

To make his English sweet upon his tongue. --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

A voice sweet, tremulous, but powerful. --Hawthorne. [1913 Webster]

4. Pleasing to the eye; beautiful; mild and attractive; fair; as, a sweet face; a sweet color or complexion. [1913 Webster]

Sweet interchange Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains. --Milton. [1913 Webster]

5. Fresh; not salt or brackish; as, sweet water. --Bacon. [1913 Webster]

6. Not changed from a sound or wholesome state. Specifically: (a) Not sour; as, sweet milk or bread. (b) Not state; not putrescent or putrid; not rancid; as, sweet butter; sweet meat or fish. [1913 Webster]

7. Plaesing to the mind; mild; gentle; calm; amiable; winning; presuasive; as, sweet manners. [1913 Webster]

Canst thou bind the sweet influence of Pleiades? --Job xxxviii. 31. [1913 Webster]

Mildness and sweet reasonableness is the one established rule of Christian working. --M. Arnold. [1913 Webster]

Note: Sweet is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, sweet-blossomed, sweet-featured, sweet-smelling, sweet-tempered, sweet-toned, etc. [1913 Webster]

{Sweet alyssum}. (Bot.) See {Alyssum}.

{Sweet apple}. (Bot.) (a) Any apple of sweet flavor. (b) See {Sweet-top}.

{Sweet bay}. (Bot.) (a) The laurel ({laurus nobilis}). (b) Swamp sassafras.

{Sweet calabash} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Passiflora} ({P. maliformis}) growing in the West Indies, and producing a roundish, edible fruit, the size of an apple.

{Sweet cicely}. (Bot.) (a) Either of the North American plants of the umbelliferous genus {Osmorrhiza} having aromatic roots and seeds, and white flowers. --Gray. (b) A plant of the genus {Myrrhis} ({M. odorata}) growing in England.

{Sweet calamus}, or {Sweet cane}. (Bot.) Same as {Sweet flag}, below.

{Sweet Cistus} (Bot.), an evergreen shrub ({Cistus Ladanum}) from which the gum ladanum is obtained.

{Sweet clover}. (Bot.) See {Melilot}.

{Sweet coltsfoot} (Bot.), a kind of butterbur ({Petasites sagittata}) found in Western North America.

{Sweet corn} (Bot.), a variety of the maize of a sweet taste. See the Note under {Corn}.

{Sweet fern} (Bot.), a small North American shrub ({Comptonia asplenifolia} syn. {Myrica asplenifolia}) having sweet-scented or aromatic leaves resembling fern leaves.

{Sweet flag} (Bot.), an endogenous plant ({Acorus Calamus}) having long flaglike leaves and a rootstock of a pungent aromatic taste. It is found in wet places in Europe and America. See {Calamus}, 2.

{Sweet gale} (Bot.), a shrub ({Myrica Gale}) having bitter fragrant leaves; -- also called {sweet willow}, and {Dutch myrtle}. See 5th {Gale}.

{Sweet grass} (Bot.), holy, or Seneca, grass.

{Sweet gum} (Bot.), an American tree ({Liquidambar styraciflua}). See {Liquidambar}.

{Sweet herbs}, fragrant herbs cultivated for culinary purposes.

{Sweet John} (Bot.), a variety of the sweet William.

{Sweet leaf} (Bot.), horse sugar. See under {Horse}.

{Sweet marjoram}. (Bot.) See {Marjoram}.

{Sweet marten} (Zo["o]l.), the pine marten.

{Sweet maudlin} (Bot.), a composite plant ({Achillea Ageratum}) allied to milfoil.

{Sweet oil}, olive oil.

{Sweet pea}. (Bot.) See under {Pea}.

{Sweet potato}. (Bot.) See under {Potato}.

{Sweet rush} (Bot.), sweet flag.

{Sweet spirits of niter} (Med. Chem.) See {Spirit of nitrous ether}, under {Spirit}.

{Sweet sultan} (Bot.), an annual composite plant ({Centaurea moschata}), also, the yellow-flowered ({C. odorata}); -- called also {sultan flower}.

{Sweet tooth}, an especial fondness for sweet things or for sweetmeats. [Colloq.]

{Sweet William}. (a) (Bot.) A species of pink ({Dianthus barbatus}) of many varieties. (b) (Zo["o]l.) The willow warbler. (c) (Zo["o]l.) The European goldfinch; -- called also {sweet Billy}. [Prov. Eng.]

{Sweet willow} (Bot.), sweet gale.

{Sweet wine}. See {Dry wine}, under {Dry}.

{To be sweet on}, to have a particular fondness for, or special interest in, as a young man for a young woman. [Colloq.] --Thackeray. [1913 Webster]

Syn: Sugary; saccharine; dulcet; luscious. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • sweet bay — sweet′ bay′ n. 1) pln laurel 1) 2) pln a North American magnolia, Magnolia virginiana, of the Atlantic coast, having large, fragrant, white flowers • Etymology: 1710–20 …   From formal English to slang

  • sweet bay — n. 1. LAUREL (n. 1) ☆ 2. a North American magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) with fragrant, white flowers, common along the coast from Maine to Texas …   English World dictionary

  • sweet bay — virgininė magnolija statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Magnolijinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, medieninis, vaistinis augalas (Magnolia virginiana), paplitęs Šiaurės Amerikoje. atitikmenys: lot. Magnolia virginiana angl. laurel magnolia; swamp bay;… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • sweet bay — kilnusis lauramedis statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Lauramedinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, prieskoninis, vaistinis augalas (Laurus nobilis), paplitęs pietvakarių Azijoje, šiaurės Afrikoje ir pietų Europoje. Iš jo gaminami maisto priedai… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

  • sweet bay — Laurel Lau rel, n. [OE. lorel, laurer, lorer, OF. lorier, laurier, F. laurier, (assumed) LL. Laurarius, fr. L. laurus.] 1. (Bot.) An evergreen shrub, of the genus {Laurus} ({Laurus nobilis}), having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sweet bay — /swit ˈbeɪ/ (say sweet bay) noun → laurel (def. 1). Also, bay …  

  • sweet bay — Swamp Swamp, n. [Cf. AS. swam a fungus, OD. swam a sponge, D. zwam a fungus, G. schwamm a sponge, Icel. sv[ o]ppr, Dan. & Sw. swamp, Goth. swamms, Gr. somfo s porous, spongy.] Wet, spongy land; soft, low ground saturated with water, but not… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sweet-bay — n. 1. Laurel, sweet wood (Laurus nobilis). 2. Swamp sassafras (Magnolia glauca) …   New dictionary of synonyms

  • sweet bay — noun shrub or small tree having rather small fragrant white flowers; abundant in southeastern United States • Syn: ↑swamp bay, ↑swamp laurel, ↑Magnolia virginiana • Hypernyms: ↑magnolia …   Useful english dictionary

  • sweet bay — noun Date: 1716 1. laurel 1 2. a magnolia (Magnolia virginiana) of the eastern United States that has fragrant white flowers and leaves with glaucous undersides …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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