from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Eglantine \Eg"lan*tine\, n. [F. ['e]glantine, fr. OF. aiglent
brier, hip tree, fr. (assumed) LL. acuculentus, fr. a dim. of
L. acus needle; cf. F. aiguille needle. Cf. {Aglet}.] (Bot.)
(a) A species of rose ({Rosa Eglanteria}), with fragrant
foliage and flowers of various colors.
(b) The sweetbrier ({R. rubiginosa}).
[1913 Webster]
Note: Milton, in the following lines, has applied the name to
some twining plant, perhaps the honeysuckle.
[1913 Webster]
Through the sweetbrier, or the vine,
Or the twisted eglantine. --L'Allegro,
47.
"In our early writers and in Gerarde and the
herbalists, it was a shrub with white flowers." --Dr.
Prior.
[1913 Webster]