whin

whin
    n 1: very spiny and dense evergreen shrub with fragrant golden-
         yellow flowers; common throughout western Europe [syn:
         {gorse}, {furze}, {whin}, {Irish gorse}, {Ulex europaeus}]
    2: small Eurasian shrub having clusters of yellow flowers that
       yield a dye; common as a weed in Britain and the United
       States; sometimes grown as an ornamental [syn: {woodwaxen},
       {dyer's greenweed}, {dyer's-broom}, {dyeweed}, {greenweed},
       {whin}, {woadwaxen}, {Genista tinctoria}]
    3: any of various hard colored rocks (especially rocks
       consisting of chert or basalt) [syn: {whinstone}, {whin}]
    

Furze \Furze\, n. [OE. firs, As. fyrs.] (Bot.)
   A thorny evergreen shrub ({Ulex Europ[ae]us}), with beautiful
   yellow flowers, very common upon the plains and hills of
   Great Britain; -- called also {gorse}, and {whin}. The dwarf
   furze is {Ulex nanus}.
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Whin \Whin\, n. [W. chwyn weeds, a single weed.]
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   1. (Bot.)
      (a) Gorse; furze. See {Furze}.
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                Through the whins, and by the cairn. --Burns.
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      (b) Woad-waxed. --Gray.
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   2. Same as {Whinstone}. [Prov. Eng.]
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   {Moor whin} or {Petty whin} (Bot.), a low prickly shrub
      ({Genista Anglica}) common in Western Europe.

   {Whin bruiser}, a machine for cutting and bruising whin, or
      furze, to feed cattle on.

   {Whin Sparrow} (Zool.), the hedge sparrow. [Prov. Eng.]

   {Whin Thrush} (Zool.), the redwing. [Prov. Eng.]
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Woad-waxen \Woad"-wax`en\, n. [Cf. {Wood-wax}.] (Bot.)
   A leguminous plant ({Genista tinctoria}) of Europe and
   Russian Asia, and adventitious in America; -- called also
   {greenwood}, {greenweed}, {dyer's greenweed}, and {whin},
   {wood-wash}, {wood-wax}, and {wood-waxen}.
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