Turnsol

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Turnsole \Turn"sole`\, n. [F. tournesol, It. tornasole; tornare
     to turn (LL. tornare) + sole the sun, L. sol. See {Turn},
     {Solar}, a., and cf. {Heliotrope}.] [Written also {turnsol}.]
     1. (Bot.)
        (a) A plant of the genus {Heliotropium}; heliotrope; -- so
            named because its flowers are supposed to turn toward


            the sun.
        (b) The sunflower.
        (c) A kind of spurge ({Euphorbia Helioscopia}).
        (d) The euphorbiaceous plant {Chrozophora tinctoria}.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Chem.)
        (a) Litmus. [Obs.]
        (b) A purple dye obtained from the plant turnsole. See
            def. 1
        (d) .
            [1913 Webster]