Definition of "lilac" []

• Any of various shrubs of the genus Syringa, especially S. vulgaris, widely cultivated for its clusters of fragrant purplish or white flowers. (noun)
• A pale to light or moderate purple. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Yet why, from inhaling air containing particles of lilac, should we be able to know that there is anything outside, much less that it is a flower and of a particular variety which we call lilac?"
• "The early afternoon sun skipped across the thick gray braids flowing down her back; she wore a blouse rife with an ecstatic wonder of purple and lime green panels riddled with spinning wheels bathed in lilac, yellow stars, and flame-tinted diamonds."
• "I am sending you a virtual bouquet of mountain lilac from San Diego and a fresh bouquet of rosemary to remind you of Provence!"