Lau·rin n.  Chem. A white crystalline substance extracted from the fruit of the bay (Laurus nobilis), and consisting of a complex mixture of glycerin ethers of several organic acids.
 ◄ ►
 Lau·rel n.
 1. Bot. An evergreen shrub, of the genus Laurus (Laurus nobilis), having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their axils; -- called also sweet bay.
 Note: The fruit is a purple berry. It is found about the Mediterranean, and was early used by the ancient Greeks to crown the victor in the games of Apollo. At a later period, academic honors were indicated by a crown of laurel, with the fruit. The leaves and tree yield an aromatic oil, used to flavor the bay water of commerce.
 Note: ☞ The name is extended to other plants which in some respect resemble the true laurel. See Phrases, below.
 2. A crown of laurel; hence, honor; distinction; fame; -- especially in the plural; as, to win laurels.
 3. An English gold coin made in 1619, and so called because the king's head on it was crowned with laurel.
 Laurel water, water distilled from the fresh leaves of the cherry laurel, and containing prussic acid and other products carried over in the process.
 American laurel, or Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia; called also calico bush. See under Mountain.
 California laurel, Umbellularia Californica.
 Cherry laurel (in England called laurel). See under Cherry.
 Great laurel, the rosebay (Rhododendron maximum).
 Ground laurel, trailing arbutus.
 New Zealand laurel, the Laurelia Novæ Zelandiæ.
 Portugal laurel, the Prunus Lusitanica.
 Rose laurel, the oleander. See Oleander.
 Sheep laurel, a poisonous shrub, Kalmia angustifolia, smaller than the mountain laurel, and with smaller and redder flowers.
 Spurge laurel, Daphne Laureola.
 West Indian laurel, Prunus occidentalis.
 ◄ ►
 Lau·ric a.
 1. Pertaining to, or derived from, the European bay or laurel (Laurus nobilis).
 ◄ ►
 Lau·rus n.  Bot. A genus of trees including, according to modern authors, only the true laurel (Laurus nobilis), and the larger Laurus Canariensis of Madeira and the Canary Islands. Formerly the sassafras, the camphor tree, the cinnamon tree, and several other aromatic trees and shrubs, were also referred to the genus Laurus.
 ◄ ►
 Roy·al a.
 1. Kingly; pertaining to the crown or the sovereign; suitable for a king or queen; regal; as, royal power or prerogative; royal domains; the royal family; royal state.
 2. Noble; generous; magnificent; princely.
    How doth that royal merchant, good Antonio?   --Shak.
 3. Under the patronage of royality; holding a charter granted by the sovereign; as, the Royal Academy of Arts; the Royal Society.
 Battle royal. See under Battle.
 Royal bay Bot., the classic laurel (Laurus nobilis.)
 Royal eagle. Zool. See Golden eagle, under Golden.
 Royal fern Bot., the handsome fern Osmunda regalis. See Osmund.
 Royal mast Naut., the mast next above the topgallant mast and usually the highest on a square-rigged vessel. The royal yard and royal sail are attached to the royal mast.
 Royal metal, an old name for gold.
 Royal palm Bot., a magnificent West Indian palm tree (Oreodoxa regia), lately discovered also in Florida.
 Royal pheasant. See Curassow.
 Royal purple, an intense violet color, verging toward blue.
 Royal tern Zool., a large, crested American tern (Sterna maxima).
 Royal tiger. Zool. See Tiger.
 Royal touch, the touching of a diseased person by the hand of a king, with the view of restoring to health; -- formerly extensively practiced, particularly for the scrofula, or king's evil.
 Syn: -- Kingly; regal; monarchical; imperial; kinglike; princely; august; majestic; superb; splendid; illustrious; noble; magnanimous.
 Sweet a. [Compar. Sweeter superl. Sweetest.]
 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.
 2. Pleasing to the smell; fragrant; redolent; balmy; as, a sweet rose; sweet odor; sweet incense.
    The breath of these flowers is sweet to me.   --Longfellow.
 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.
    To make his English sweet upon his tongue.   --Chaucer.
    A voice sweet, tremulous, but powerful.   --Hawthorne.
 4. Pleasing to the eye; beautiful; mild and attractive; fair; as, a sweet face; a sweet color or complexion.
 Sweet interchange
 Of hill and valley, rivers, woods, and plains.   --Milton.
 5. Fresh; not salt or brackish; as, sweet water.
 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.
 7. Plaesing to the mind; mild; gentle; calm; amiable; winning; presuasive; as, sweet manners.
    Canst thou bind the sweet influence of Pleiades?   --Job xxxviii. 31.
    Mildness and sweet reasonableness is the one established rule of Christian working.   --M. Arnold.
 Note: ☞ Sweet is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, sweet-blossomed, sweet-featured, sweet-smelling, sweet-tempered, sweet-toned, etc.
 Sweet alyssum. Bot. See Alyssum.
 Sweet apple. Bot. (a) Any apple of sweet flavor. (b) See Sweet-sop.
 Sweet bay. Bot. (a) The laurel (Laurus nobilis). (b) Swamp sassafras.
 Sweet calabash Bot., a plant of the genus Passiflora (Passiflora 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 (Myrrhis 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 Zool., 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 (Centaurea 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) Zool. The willow warbler. (c) Zool. 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.
 Syn: -- Sugary; saccharine; dulcet; luscious.
 Sweet·wood n. Bot. (a) The true laurel (Laurus nobilis.) (b) The timber of the tree Oreodaphne Leucoxylon, growing in Jamaica. The name is also applied to the timber of several other related trees.
 ◄ ►
 Bay·ber·ry n. Bot. (a) The fruit of the bay tree or Laurus nobilis. (b) A tree of the West Indies related to the myrtle (Pimenta acris). (c) The fruit of Myrica cerifera (wax myrtle); the shrub itself; -- called also candleberry tree.
 Bayberry tallow, a fragrant green wax obtained from the bayberry or wax myrtle; -- called also myrtle wax.
 ◄ ►
 Bay, n.
 1. A berry, particularly of the laurel. [Obs.]
 2. The laurel tree (Laurus nobilis). Hence, in the plural, an honorary garland or crown bestowed as a prize for victory or excellence, anciently made or consisting of branches of the laurel.
    The patriot's honors and the poet's bays.   --Trumbull.
 3. A tract covered with bay trees. [Local, U. S.]
 Bay leaf, the leaf of the bay tree (Laurus nobilis). It has a fragrant odor and an aromatic taste, and is used for flavoring in food.
 Bay tree. A species of laurel. (Laurus nobilis).
 ◄ ►
 Laurus nobilis
      n : small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish
          berries and glossy aromatic leaves used for flavoring in
          cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors
          [syn: true laurel, bay, bay laurel, bay tree]