flax
flax Lexical Profile
flax Game Scores & Validity
• noun
An annual herbaceous plant (Linum usitatissimum) of the family Linaceae, native to the eastern Mediterranean and western Asia, widely cultivated for its strong bast fibers used to make linen and its nutritious oil-bearing seeds.
"Farmers in the region have cultivated flax for centuries to supply the local textile mills."
The dressed, pale yellowish textile fiber obtained from the stems of the flax plant after retting and scutching, prepared for spinning into linen thread or yarn.
"She spun the raw bundles of flax into fine, durable thread on the wooden spinning wheel."
Any of various ornamental flowering plants of the genus Linum, prized in gardens for their slender stems and delicate, saucer-shaped blossoms that bloom in shades of sky blue, yellow, red, or white.
"The perennial blue flax in the border opened its pale azure blossoms in the morning sun."
• Rhymes for flax
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English fleax, originating from Proto-Germanic *flahsa-, which is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *plek- meaning 'to plait' or 'to weave'.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.