From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Gentian \Gen"tian\ (j[e^]n"shan or j[e^]n"sh[i^]*an), n. [OE.
genciane, F. gentiane, L. gentiana, fr. Gentius, an Illyrian
king, said to have discovered its properties.] (Bot.)
Any one of a genus ({Gentiana}) of herbaceous plants with
opposite leaves and a tubular four- or five-lobed corolla,
usually blue, but sometimes white, yellow, or red. See
Illust. of {Capsule}.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Many species are found on the highest mountains of
Europe, Asia, and America, and some are prized for
their beauty, as the Alpine ({Gentiana verna},
{Gentiana Bavarica}, and {Gentiana excisa}), and the
American fringed gentians ({Gentiana crinita} and
{Gentiana detonsa}). Several are used as tonics,
especially the bitter roots of {Gentiana lutea}, the
officinal gentian of the pharmacopoeias.
[1913 Webster]
{Horse gentian}, fever root.
{Yellow gentian} (Bot.), the officinal gentian ({Gentiana
lutea}). See {Bitterwort}.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
gentian
n 1: any of various plants of the family Gentianaceae especially
the genera Gentiana and Gentianella and Gentianopsis
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