spanish broom

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)
Spanish broom
    n 1: tall thornless shrub having pale yellow flowers and
         flexible rushlike twigs used in basketry; of southwestern
         Europe and Mediterranean; naturalized in California [syn:
         {Spanish broom}, {weaver's broom}, {Spartium junceum}]
    2: erect shrub of southwestern Europe having racemes of golden
       yellow flowers [syn: {Spanish broom}, {Spanish gorse},
       {Genista hispanica}]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Spanish \Span"ish\, a.
   Of or pertaining to Spain or the Spaniards.
   [1913 Webster]

   {Spanish bayonet} (Bot.), a liliaceous plant ({Yucca
      alorifolia}) with rigid spine-tipped leaves. The name is
      also applied to other similar plants of the Southwestern
      United States and mexico. Called also {Spanish daggers}.
      

   {Spanish bean} (Bot.) See the Note under {Bean}.

   {Spanish black}, a black pigment obtained by charring cork.
      --Ure.

   {Spanish broom} (Bot.), a leguminous shrub ({Spartium
      junceum}) having many green flexible rushlike twigs.

   {Spanish brown}, a species of earth used in painting, having
      a dark reddish brown color, due to the presence of
      sesquioxide of iron.

   {Spanish buckeye} (Bot.), a small tree ({Ungnadia speciosa})
      of Texas, New Mexico, etc., related to the buckeye, but
      having pinnate leaves and a three-seeded fruit.

   {Spanish burton} (Naut.), a purchase composed of two single
      blocks. A

   {double Spanish burton} has one double and two single blocks.
      --Luce (Textbook of Seamanship).

   {Spanish chalk} (Min.), a kind of steatite; -- so called
      because obtained from Aragon in Spain.

   {Spanish cress} (Bot.), a cruciferous plant ({Lepidium
      Cadamines}), a species of peppergrass.

   {Spanish curlew} (Zool.), the long-billed curlew. [U.S.]

   {Spanish daggers} (Bot.) See {Spanish bayonet}.

   {Spanish elm} (Bot.), a large West Indian tree ({Cordia
      Gerascanthus}) furnishing hard and useful timber.

   {Spanish feretto}, a rich reddish brown pigment obtained by
      calcining copper and sulphur together in closed crucibles.
      

   {Spanish flag} (Zool.), the California rockfish
      ({Sebastichthys rubrivinctus}). It is conspicuously
      colored with bands of red and white.

   {Spanish fly} (Zool.), a brilliant green beetle, common in
      the south of Europe, used for raising blisters. See
      {Blister beetle} under {Blister}, and {Cantharis}.

   {Spanish fox} (Naut.), a yarn twisted against its lay.

   {Spanish grass}. (Bot.) See {Esparto}.

   {Spanish juice} (Bot.), licorice.

   {Spanish leather}. See {Cordwain}.

   {Spanish mackerel}. (Zool.)
   (a) A species of mackerel ({Scomber colias}) found both in
       Europe and America. In America called {chub mackerel},
       {big-eyed mackerel}, and {bull mackerel}.
   (b) In the United States, a handsome mackerel having bright
       yellow round spots ({Scomberomorus maculatus}), highly
       esteemed as a food fish. The name is sometimes
       erroneously applied to other species. See Illust. under
       Mackerel.

   {Spanish main}, the name formerly given to the southern
      portion of the Caribbean Sea, together with the contiguous
      coast, embracing the route traversed by Spanish treasure
      ships from the New to the Old World.

   {Spanish moss}. (Bot.) See {Tillandsia} (and note at that
      entry).

   {Spanish needles} (Bot.), a composite weed ({Bidens
      bipinnata}) having achenia armed with needlelike awns.

   {Spanish nut} (Bot.), a bulbous plant ({Iris Sisyrinchium})
      of the south of Europe.

   {Spanish potato} (Bot.), the sweet potato. See under
      {Potato}.

   {Spanish red}, an ocherous red pigment resembling Venetian
      red, but slightly yellower and warmer. --Fairholt.

   {Spanish reef} (Naut.), a knot tied in the head of a
      jib-headed sail.

   {Spanish sheep} (Zool.), a merino.

   {Spanish white}, an impalpable powder prepared from chalk by
      pulverizing and repeated washings, -- used as a white
      pigment.

   {Spanish windlass} (Naut.), a wooden roller, with a rope
      wound about it, into which a marline spike is thrust to
      serve as a lever.
      [1913 Webster]
    
from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Broom \Broom\ (br[=oo]m), n. [OE. brom, brome, AS. br[=o]m; akin
   to LG. bram, D. brem, OHG. br[=a]mo broom, thorn?bush, G.
   brombeere blackberry. Cf. {Bramble}, n.]
   1. (Bot.) A plant having twigs suitable for making brooms to
      sweep with when bound together; esp., the {Cytisus
      scoparius} of Western Europe, which is a low shrub with
      long, straight, green, angular branches, minute leaves,
      and large yellow flowers.
      [1913 Webster]

            No gypsy cowered o'er fires of furze and broom.
                                                  --Wordsworth.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. An implement for sweeping floors, etc., commonly made of
      the panicles or tops of broom corn, bound together or
      attached to a long wooden handle; -- so called because
      originally made of the twigs of the broom.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Butcher's broom}, a plant ({Ruscus aculeatus}) of the Smilax
      family, used by butchers for brooms to sweep their blocks;
      -- called also {knee holly}. See {Cladophyll}.

   {Dyer's broom}, a species of mignonette ({Reseda luteola}),
      used for dyeing yellow; dyer's weed; dyer's rocket.

   {Spanish broom}. See under {Spanish}.
      [1913 Webster]
    

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