Meanings
hyacinth1
plural hyacinths
- Any bulbous plant of the genus Hyacinthus, native to the Mediterranean and South Africa.
On life's long round by chance I found / A dell impearled with dew, / Where hyacinths, gushing from the ground, / Lent to the earth heaven's native hue / Of holy blue.
1889, Mathilde Blind, “[Love in Exile. Song X.] ‘On Life’s Long Round’.”, in The Ascent of Man, London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, stanza 1, page 177
Hyacinth2
- alternativeAlternative form of Hyacinthus.
- rareA male given name from Ancient Greek.
- A female given name from English; one of the less common flower names used since the 19th century.
1 more example
"Cynthia seems to me such an out-of-the-way name, only fit for poetry, not for daily use." "It is mine," said Mrs. Kirkpatrick, in a plaintive tone of reproach. "I was christened Hyacinth, and her poor father would have her called after me. I'm sorry you don't like it." […] "Yes; Hyacinth! It's the silliest name I've ever heard of; but it's hers, and I must call her by it.[…]"
1864 August – 1866 January, [Elizabeth] Gaskell, “A Crisis”, in Wives and Daughters. An Every-day Story. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1866, →OCLC, pages 104 and 119
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
hyacinth · noun
- Ancient Greekὑάκινθος“any of several dark blue flowers”
- Latinhyacinthus
- Medieval Latinjacinthus
- Old Englishiacinþ
- Medieval Latinjacintus
- Old Frenchjacincte
- Middle Englishjacinth
- Englishhyacinth
From Middle English jacinth, partly from Old French jacincte, from Medieval Latin jacintus, and partly from Old English iacinþ, from Medieval Latin jacinthus, both from Latin hyacinthus, from Ancient Greek ὑάκινθος (huákinthos, “any of several dark blue flowers”), ultimately from a non-Indo-European Mediterranean language. Re-Latinized in the 16th century.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Medieval Latin
Full word history & related roots →Hyacinth · proper noun
- Ancient GreekὙάκινθος
- LatinHyacinthus
- EnglishHyacinth
From Latin Hyacinthus, a saint's name from Ancient Greek Ὑάκινθος (Huákinthos), the name of a mythological character.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ὑάκινθος
- ὑάκινθος (huákinthos)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
Bulgarian зюмбю́л, хиацинт
- зюмбю́л (zjumbjúl)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
- хиацинт (hiacint)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
- Хиацинт (Hiacint)male given name
- Хиацинт (Hiacint)female given name
Catalan jacint, Jacint
- jacintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
- Jacintmale given name
Chinese Mandarin 風信子 /风信子
- 風信子 /风信子 (fēngxìnzǐ)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
Czech hyacint
- hyacintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Danish hyacint
- hyacintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Dutch hyacint
- hyacintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Esperanto hiacinto
- hiacintoplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Estonian hüatsint
- hüatsintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Finnish hyasintti
- hyasinttiplant of the genus Hyacinthus
French jacinthe, Hyacinthe
- jacintheplant of the genus Hyacinthus
- Hyacinthemale given name
German Hyazinthe
- Hyazintheplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Greek υάκινθος, ζουμπούλι
- υάκινθος (yákinthos)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
- ζουμπούλι (zoumpoúli)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
- ζιμπούλι (zimpoúli)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
- Υάκινθος (Yákinthos)male given name
- Υακίνθη (Yakínthi)female given name
Hebrew יקינתון
- יקינתוןplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Hungarian jácint
- jácintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Irish bú
- búplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Italian giacinto, Giacinto
- giacintoplant of the genus Hyacinthus
- Giacintomale given name
- Giacintafemale given name
Japanese ヒヤシンス, 風信子
- ヒヤシンス (hiyashinsu)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
- 風信子 (hiyashinsu)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
Korean 히아신스
- 히아신스 (hiasinseu)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
Latin vaccīnium
- vaccīniumplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Latvian hiacinte
- hiacinteplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Lithuanian hiacintas
- hiacintasplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Norwegian Bokmål hyasint
- hyasintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Persian سنبل
- سنبل (sonbol)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
Polish hiacynt, Hiacynt
- hiacyntplant of the genus Hyacinthus
- Hiacyntmale given name
- Jacentymale given name
- Jacekmale given name
- Hiacyntafemale given name
Portuguese jacinto
- jacintoplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Romanian zambilă, iacint
- zambilăplant of the genus Hyacinthus
- iacintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Russian гиаци́нт
- гиаци́нт (giacínt)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
Slovak hyacint
- hyacintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Spanish jacinto, Jacinto
- jacintoplant of the genus Hyacinthus
- Jacintomale given name
- Jacintafemale given name
Swahili hiakintho, yasintho
- hiakinthoplant of the genus Hyacinthus
- yasinthoplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Swedish hyacint
- hyacintplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Tagalog hasinto
- hasintoplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Turkish sümbül
- sümbülplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Ukrainian гіаци́нт
- гіаци́нт (hiacýnt)plant of the genus Hyacinthus
Welsh hiasinth, iacinth
- hiasinthplant of the genus Hyacinthus
- iacinthplant of the genus Hyacinthus
Rhymes & wordplay
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
hyacinth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyacinth
“hyacinth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyacinth. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hyacinth,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hyacinth.
Source: hyacinth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.