Pink \Pink\, n. [Perh. akin to pick; as if the edges of the
petals were picked out. Cf. Pink, v. t.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to several plants of the
caryophyllaceous genus Dianthus, and to their flowers,
which are sometimes very fragrant and often double in
cultivated varieties. The species are mostly perennial
herbs, with opposite linear leaves, and handsome
five-petaled flowers with a tubular calyx.
2. A color resulting from the combination of a pure vivid red
with more or less white; -- so called from the common
color of the flower. --Dryden.
3. Anything supremely excellent; the embodiment or perfection
of something. ``The very pink of courtesy.'' --Shak.
4. (Zo["o]l.) The European minnow; -- so called from the
color of its abdomen in summer. [Prov. Eng.]
Bunch pink is Dianthus barbatus.
China, or Indian, pink. See under China.
Clove pink is Dianthus Caryophyllus, the stock from which
carnations are derived.
Garden pink. See Pheasant's eye.
Meadow pink is applied to Dianthus deltoides; also, to
the ragged robin.
Maiden pink, Dianthus deltoides.
Moss pink. See under Moss.
Pink needle, the pin grass; -- so called from the long,
tapering points of the carpels. See Alfilaria.
Sea pink. See Thrift.
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |