Meaning and Origin
What does the name Lavender mean? Keep reading to find the user submitted meanings, dictionary definitions, and more.
Origin and Meaning of Lavender
User Submitted Origins
English
75%
Bantu
8%
Irish
8%
Hebrew
8%
User Submitted Meanings
- According to a user from the United Kingdom, the name Lavender is of Bantu origin and means "Red carrots that grow in Bantu".
- A submission from California, U.S. says the name Lavender means "Beautiful" and is of Hebrew origin.
- According to a user from California, U.S., the name Lavender means "A wildly cultivated girl who knows her ways around".
International Interest
Also see international interest
Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
noun Lav"en*der
Senses
- [Bot] An aromatic plant of the genus Lavandula Lavandula vera), common in the south of Europe. It yields and oil used in medicine and perfumery. The Spike lavender Lavandula Spica) yields a coarser oil (oil of spike), used in the arts.
- The pale, purplish color of lavender flowers, paler and more delicate than lilac.
Etymology: OE. lavendre, F. lavande, It. lavanda lavender, a washing, fr. L. lavare to wash; cf. It. lsavendola, LL. lavendula. So called because it was used in bathing and washing. See Lave. to wash, and cf. Lavender
Other Dictionary Sources
- A pale purple color
- Any of various Old World aromatic shrubs or subshrubs with usually mauve or blue flowers; widely cultivated
- Of a pale purple color
Wiktionary
From Middle English lavendre, from Anglo-Norman lavendre (French: lavande), from Medieval Latin lavendula, possibly from Latin lividus (“bluish”), but influenced by lavare (“wash”) due to use of lavender in washing clothes.
- Any of a group of European plants, genus, Lavandula, of the mint family.
- a pale purple colour, like that of the lavender flower.
- lavender colour:
- web lavender colour:
lavender was also found in the following language(s): Middle English