from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
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.
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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.
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3. Anything supremely excellent; the embodiment or perfection
of something. "The very pink of courtesy." --Shak.
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4. (Zool.) The European minnow; -- so called from the color
of its abdomen in summer. [Prov. Eng.]
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{Bunch pink} is {Dianthus barbatus}.
{China pink}, 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}.
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