''gardenia'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''gardenia'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260125123911-00-⌔

gardenia - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Noun

gardenia (plural gardenias)

• Any of various tropical evergreen small trees or shrubs, of the genus Gardenia, having glossy leaves and white flowers.
• The flower of these plants.
  • ✤ The aroma given off by flowers has an aphrodisiac effect, especially on women. This is so particularly in the case of lilies of the valley, gardenia, frangipani, and henna.¹
  • ✤ Heed remembered the baby-powder smell from the bowl of gardenias, their edges browning like toast.²

Etymology

From New Latin, named after Scottish naturalist Dr. Alexander Garden.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA: /ɡɑɹˈdinjə/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ɡɑːˈdiːnjə/
• Audio (Southern England): 🔊
• Hyphenation: gar‧de‧nia

Printed 2026-06-28.

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Footnotes

1. 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 98: ↩

2. 2003, Toni Morrison, Love, Vintage (2016), page 125: ↩

Link to original

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