privetn.¹

Brit.

/ˈprɪvɪt/, U.S.

/ˈprɪvᵻt/

Forms:

α. Old English pryuet, early Middle English preuet (south-eastern), 1500s priuette, 1500s–1600s priuet, 1500s–1600s privett, 1600s private, 1600s– privet.

β. 1500s priuie; English regional 1800s– privy, 1900s– privvy (Warwickshire); U.S. regional (chiefly southern) 1700s– privy; Scottish pre-1700 1700s privie, 1700s– privy; Irish English 1900s– privy.

Origin: Of unknown origin.

Etymology: Origin unknown. Compare later primprint n., prim n.², and primp n., and also primet n.A connection between the present word and later private adj.¹, privy adj. has frequently been suggested, but there is no evidence to support this. Apparently attested early in place names, as Pryfetesflode (c900 in an annal for the year 755), Prevet (1207), Pruuet (c1245), Privet (1248), now Privett, Hampshire; bosco de Prevet (1268), boscus de Pryvet (14th cent.), now Privett Farm, Wiltshire. The β forms are perhaps attested earlier in the following place name: Prinelegh (read Priuelegh) (1380), Preuelegh (1481), now Prewley, Devon.

1. Originally: the deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub Ligustrum vulgare (family Oleaceae), native to Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, having glossy dark green leaves and clusters of small white flowers succeeded by shiny black berries, and formerly cultivated for garden hedges; (in early use also) †a thicket of this shrub (obsolete). Later also (frequently with distinguishing word): any of various other shrubs of the genus Ligustrum; esp. the semi-evergreen Japanese species L. ovalifolium, now the kind which is usually used for hedges.Japan, Japanese privet: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > hedge plants > privet

primpc1400

ligustre1480

privet1542

primprint1548

prim1573

ligustrum1664

English myrtle1816

wax-tree1825

Japan privet1869

swamp privet1884

primet-

α.

lOE Bounds (Sawyer 1013) in J. M. Kemble Codex Diplomaticus (1846) IV. 108 Ðæt on heselmæres graf easteweardne. Swa þurh ðone pryuet on þristan dene.

1256 Deed Jan. 21 (P.R.O.: E40/8635) In omnibus mariscis qui pertinent ad villam de Farlingetone [i.e. Farlington, Havant, Hants.] excepto..parco et excepto cooperto de preuet et Crofta que fuit Rogeri le Lung, que est contra portam curie.

1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca Ligustrum..this tree dothe growe in watry places, as wyllowes and salowes do, and bearith a blacke fruite lyke to an elder tree; they whiche doo take it for the bushe callyd Priuet, be moche deceyued.

1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball vi. xxv. 689 Priuet is a base plante, very seldome growing vpright.

a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 45 Cornowlee makes an hedge like privett.

1686 N. Tate tr. G. Fracastoro Syphilis 55 For Ulcers that shall then the Mouth offend, Boil Flowers that Privet and Pomgranets send.

1753 J. Warton tr. Virgil Eclogues & Georgics I. 65 The privet's silver flow'rs we still neglect, But dusky hyacinths with care collect.

1779 W. Mason Eng. Garden iii. 114 The hardy Thorn, Holly, or Box, Privet, or Pyracanth.

1824 J. E. Smith Eng. Flora I. 13 Common Privet, Print, or Prim-print.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Walking to Mail in Poems (new ed.) II. 49 A skin As clean and white as privet when it flowers.

1859 W. S. Coleman Our Woodlands 132 The clustered white flowers of the Privet appear about midsummer, and are very ornamental.

1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 197 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV For..easy propagation, and ample foliage of shining deep-green color, there is no plant superior to the Japan privet (Ligustrum Japonicum).

1900 W. Robinson Eng. Flower Garden (ed. 8) 631/1 The privets..are inhabitants of Asia and Europe, including China and Japan.

1935 G. Blake Shipbuilders x. 300 Danny now and again brushed against cropped hedges of privet and escalonia.

1974 W. Condry Woodlands xiv. 159 With the juniper is often a wealth of other chalk-loving shrubs such as wild privet..and spindle.

1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 329/2 Garden privet, L. ovalifolium, is a Japanese species with rounder, and often yellower, leaves than the native species.

β. 1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 13^v Set priuie [1577 priuy] or prim, set box like him.1593 N. Breton in R. S. Phœnix Nest 22 The borders round about, are set with priuie sweete.1777 J. Lightfoot Flora Scotica II. App. 1131 [Ligustrum vulgare]Privy saugh. Scotis australibus.a1903 E. Smith MS Coll. Warwicks. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 624/1 Privvy [privet, Ligustrum vulgare].1956 Dumfries & Galloway Standard 8 Sept. 12 (advt.) Job in garden and privy hedge cutting wanted.1999 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 4 Dec. The scores of little one-man nurseries which ringed Belfast..largely depended on their existence on this insatiable demand for the green ‘privy’... Many of these 100-year-old-plus hedges are still in existence.

2. Usually with distinguishing word: any of various shrubs of other genera (esp. Phillyrea) and families, usually having foliage or flowers which resemble those of privet in some way.barren, Egyptian, evergreen, mock privet: see the first element.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > phillyrea or mock privet

mock privet1597

phillyrea1597

privet1597

1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1209 Of mocke Priuet... 1 Phillyrea angustifolia.

1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 603 Alaternus. The euer greene Priuet.

1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) There is also a sort called Mock-privet, in Latin Philyrea.

1715 Philos. Trans. 1714–16 (Royal Soc.) 29 284 Fine dented, small leaved mock-privet.

1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 324 Evergreen Privet, Rhamnus.

1830 Times 15 Nov. 2/1 (advt.) Nursery stock... 5,000 evergreen privet, 5,000 yew.

1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 665/2 Henna is the Persian name..in England it is often called Egyptian Privet.

1887 Nicholson's Dict. Gard. Phillyrea,..Jasmine Box; Mock Privet.

1935 Zanesville (Ohio) Signal 2 Nov. 4/8 In California, Florida and England it [sc. henna] is cultivated for ornament and is called Egyptian privet. The dye is obtained from the leaves.

1965 D. R. Harris Plants, Animals, & Man in Outer Leeward Islands iv. 41 The zone in which all animals can graze extends about a mile south of the village and here there are..large thickets of privet (Clerodendron aculeatum), which is very thorny and browsed only by goats.

2004 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 20 Nov. (News section) 8 A member of the olive family, phillyrea is sometimes known as evergreen privet. It is, however, both more distinguished than privet and less gloomy than conifers.

3. U.S. regional. In full swamp privet. A small evergreen tree of the southern United States, Forestiera acuminata (family Oleaceae), with glossy leaves resembling those of privet.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > hedge plants > privet

primpc1400

ligustre1480

privet1542

primprint1548

prim1573

ligustrum1664

English myrtle1816

wax-tree1825

Japan privet1869

swamp privet1884

primet-

1884 C. S. Sargent Rep. Forests N. Amer. 112 Forestiera acuminata... Privet... Borders of swamps and streams, in low, wet soil.

1901 C. T. Mohr Plant Life Alabama (Contrib. fr. U.S. National Herbarium VI.) 667 Swamp Privet.

1976 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 63 1358 These areas host a variety of woody plant species... Growths of oak (Quercus spp.), willow (Salix nigra).., ash (Fraxinus spp.), and privet (Forestiera acuminata) were found.

2005 Washington Post (Nexis) 7 July h1 He has planted a tall and somewhat rangy glossy-leafed shrub named Godfrey's swamp privet.

Compounds

C1. General attributive and similative.

privet berry n.

ΚΠ

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 81/2 Privet Berries grow in bunches, and are all black.

1818 Philos.Trans. (Royal Soc.) 108 115 The juices of many other fruits, as black cherries,..privet berries.., seem to be made only blue by mild fixed alkalis.

1983 Times 3 Oct. 28/4 Holly berries are turning red, privet berries turning from green to black.

privet blossom n.

ΚΠ

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 356 And there she stood apart,..pale as privet blossom is in June.

2002 Time Out (Nexis) 13 Feb. 56 The summertime reek of privet blossom coincides with Stephen's awakening into an adult world of sexuality and deceit.

privet bush n.

ΚΠ

1615 R. Brathwait Strappado for Divell 134 The Brier, the haw-thorne: or the Priuet bush, The Osire, Cypresse, or where th' merry Thrush, Sings out her Fa, la, la.

1860 C. D. Kirk Wooing & Warring in Wilderness 13 Just as he trod the first step of the porch, a form emerged from the shadow of a privet bush, and stood at his side.

1945 R. P. Wodehouse Hayfever Plants iii. 121 If a flowering privet bush is shaken on a still day quantities of pollen can be seen to float away.

privet flower n.

ΚΠ

1572 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 165 Pinkes and privett fflowers.

1749 J. Martyn tr. Virgil Bucolics ii. 18 The white privet flowers drop on the ground [L. alba ligustra cadunt].

1871 Appletons' Jrnl. 26 Aug. 227/2 Lenore is sitting on the edge of the low bed; her cheeks are as white as privet-flowers.

1982 Times 28 June 24/5 Lime blossom is thick on the trees, and the strong-scented privet flowers are opening.

privet hedge n.

ΚΠ

1591 in Lyly's Wks. (1902) I. 433 The 3. and last was a Snayl mount [spiral ascent], rising to foure circles of greene priuie hedges.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 34 A-nights he puts it [sc. his beard] in a Presse..that it may come forth the next morning..straite and leuell as a line; and all the other haires, as iust and as euen, as a Priuet hedge, newly cut.

1750 I. Walton Compl. Angler v. 72 A green Caterpillar or Worm..; it was found on a Privet-hedge.

1898 H. G. Wells War of Worlds i. xvi. 166 Two men lifted out something on a white stretcher, and put this gently on the grass beneath the privet hedge.

2005 Guardian (Nexis) 3 Sept. (Home section) 8 The London front garden..was known for its neatly clipped privet hedge, its row of pansies and its patch of lawn.

privet-scented adj.

ΚΠ

1831 W. S. Landor Misc. in Wks. (1846) II. 633 Thro' the pale-glimmering privet-scented lane.

1983 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 12 Apr. a22/2 No daffodil/grass/ privet-scented breezes are creeping through their nasal passages into their hearts to evoke impossible dreams.

C2.

† privet-fly n. Obsolete rare a kind of plume moth (not identified).

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Pterophoridae or Alucitidae > member of

plume moth1742

privet-fly1753

plume1819

chalk pit1832

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Privet-fly, in natural history, the name of a species of fly very common on the shrub from whence it has its name. It is called the erinopterus.

privet hawk n. = privet hawkmoth n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Sphingidae > sphinx ligustri (privet hawk)

privet hawkmoth1720

privet hawk1766

1766 M. Harris Aurelian 3 The Caterpillars of the Privet Hawk when first hatched, have the Horn at their tails very long.

1953 Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) 18 Sept. 6- a/2 Michael..breeds colonies of moths at home to deal with his mail order business. He has a regular price list with a privet hawk costing 15 to 20 cents.

1986 Sunday Express Mag. 7 Sept. 22 (caption) The caterpillar of the privet hawk, with its..horn on the final segment.

privet hawk caterpillar n. the large larva of the privet hawkmoth, which is green with oblique stripes and a tail horn.

ΚΠ

1908 N.E.D. (at cited word) Privet-hawk caterpillar.

1910 Times 3 Dec. 4/3 When a privet-hawk caterpillar that has occasion to cross a gravel path, sees the Lord of the garden crouching, with spade uplifted, to meet its spring, it must surely form a poor impression of humanity.

2004 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 4 Sept. 27 The headmaster..encouraged the boys to take an interest in butterflies and moths, providing them with shoe boxes..for the Puss-moth and Privet Hawk caterpillars which they would collect on their walks.

privet hawkmoth n. a large Palaearctic hawkmoth, Sphinx ligustri, which has black and pinkish bands on the hindwings and abdomen and whose larvae feed on privet and related plants.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Sphingidae > sphinx ligustri (privet hawk)

privet hawkmoth1720

privet hawk1766

1720 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Eng. Insects Descr. Pl. vii The Moth..commonly called the Privet Hawk-Moth.

1859 W. S. Coleman Our Woodlands 133 The Privet..being the chief food of the caterpillar of that very beautiful insect the Privet Hawk Moth.

1926 Iowa City Press– citizen 31 Aug. 3 The privet-hawk moth increases its original weight 72,000 times during its 32 days of feeding.

1993 BBC Wildlife June 60/2 The privet hawkmoth..is commonest in southern England.

Derivatives

ˈprivetlike n.

ΚΠ

1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 220 A thorny shrub, with a pale bark and privet-like leaves.

1894 Times 24 Oct. 8/2 A small portion of her neck..was of a delicate privet-like whiteness.

1994 Horticulture (Nexis) Apr. 65 Almost any lilac is an excellent source of cut flowers, though fragrance fans may want to avoid those species with a musky, privetlike scent.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	privet
释义	privetn.¹ Brit. /ˈprɪvɪt/, U.S. /ˈprɪvᵻt/ Forms: α. Old English pryuet, early Middle English preuet (south-eastern), 1500s priuette, 1500s–1600s priuet, 1500s–1600s privett, 1600s private, 1600s– privet. β. 1500s priuie; English regional 1800s– privy, 1900s– privvy (Warwickshire); U.S. regional (chiefly southern) 1700s– privy; Scottish pre-1700 1700s privie, 1700s– privy; Irish English 1900s– privy. Origin: Of unknown origin. Etymology: Origin unknown. Compare later primprint n., prim n.², and primp n., and also primet n.A connection between the present word and later private adj.¹, privy adj. has frequently been suggested, but there is no evidence to support this. Apparently attested early in place names, as Pryfetesflode (c900 in an annal for the year 755), Prevet (1207), Pruuet (c1245), Privet (1248), now Privett, Hampshire; bosco de Prevet (1268), boscus de Pryvet (14th cent.), now Privett Farm, Wiltshire. The β forms are perhaps attested earlier in the following place name: Prinelegh (read Priuelegh) (1380), Preuelegh (1481), now Prewley, Devon. 1. Originally: the deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub Ligustrum vulgare (family Oleaceae), native to Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, having glossy dark green leaves and clusters of small white flowers succeeded by shiny black berries, and formerly cultivated for garden hedges; (in early use also) †a thicket of this shrub (obsolete). Later also (frequently with distinguishing word): any of various other shrubs of the genus Ligustrum; esp. the semi-evergreen Japanese species L. ovalifolium, now the kind which is usually used for hedges.Japan, Japanese privet: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > hedge plants > privet primpc1400 ligustre1480 privet1542 primprint1548 prim1573 ligustrum1664 English myrtle1816 wax-tree1825 Japan privet1869 swamp privet1884 primet- α. lOE Bounds (Sawyer 1013) in J. M. Kemble Codex Diplomaticus (1846) IV. 108 Ðæt on heselmæres graf easteweardne. Swa þurh ðone pryuet on þristan dene. 1256 Deed Jan. 21 (P.R.O.: E40/8635) In omnibus mariscis qui pertinent ad villam de Farlingetone [i.e. Farlington, Havant, Hants.] excepto..parco et excepto cooperto de preuet et Crofta que fuit Rogeri le Lung, que est contra portam curie. 1542 T. Elyot Bibliotheca Ligustrum..this tree dothe growe in watry places, as wyllowes and salowes do, and bearith a blacke fruite lyke to an elder tree; they whiche doo take it for the bushe callyd Priuet, be moche deceyued. 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball vi. xxv. 689 Priuet is a base plante, very seldome growing vpright. a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 45 Cornowlee makes an hedge like privett. 1686 N. Tate tr. G. Fracastoro Syphilis 55 For Ulcers that shall then the Mouth offend, Boil Flowers that Privet and Pomgranets send. 1753 J. Warton tr. Virgil Eclogues & Georgics I. 65 The privet's silver flow'rs we still neglect, But dusky hyacinths with care collect. 1779 W. Mason Eng. Garden iii. 114 The hardy Thorn, Holly, or Box, Privet, or Pyracanth. 1824 J. E. Smith Eng. Flora I. 13 Common Privet, Print, or Prim-print. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Walking to Mail in Poems (new ed.) II. 49 A skin As clean and white as privet when it flowers. 1859 W. S. Coleman Our Woodlands 132 The clustered white flowers of the Privet appear about midsummer, and are very ornamental. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 197 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV For..easy propagation, and ample foliage of shining deep-green color, there is no plant superior to the Japan privet (Ligustrum Japonicum). 1900 W. Robinson Eng. Flower Garden (ed. 8) 631/1 The privets..are inhabitants of Asia and Europe, including China and Japan. 1935 G. Blake Shipbuilders x. 300 Danny now and again brushed against cropped hedges of privet and escalonia. 1974 W. Condry Woodlands xiv. 159 With the juniper is often a wealth of other chalk-loving shrubs such as wild privet..and spindle. 1996 R. Mabey Flora Britannica 329/2 Garden privet, L. ovalifolium, is a Japanese species with rounder, and often yellower, leaves than the native species. β. 1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 13^v Set priuie [1577 priuy] or prim, set box like him.1593 N. Breton in R. S. Phœnix Nest 22 The borders round about, are set with priuie sweete.1777 J. Lightfoot Flora Scotica II. App. 1131 [Ligustrum vulgare]Privy saugh. Scotis australibus.a1903 E. Smith MS Coll. Warwicks. Words in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 624/1 Privvy [privet, Ligustrum vulgare].1956 Dumfries & Galloway Standard 8 Sept. 12 (advt.) Job in garden and privy hedge cutting wanted.1999 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 4 Dec. The scores of little one-man nurseries which ringed Belfast..largely depended on their existence on this insatiable demand for the green ‘privy’... Many of these 100-year-old-plus hedges are still in existence. 2. Usually with distinguishing word: any of various shrubs of other genera (esp. Phillyrea) and families, usually having foliage or flowers which resemble those of privet in some way.barren, Egyptian, evergreen, mock privet: see the first element. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > phillyrea or mock privet mock privet1597 phillyrea1597 privet1597 1597 J. Gerard Herball iii. 1209 Of mocke Priuet... 1 Phillyrea angustifolia. 1629 J. Parkinson Paradisi in Sole 603 Alaternus. The euer greene Priuet. 1678 E. Phillips New World of Words (new ed.) (at cited word) There is also a sort called Mock-privet, in Latin Philyrea. 1715 Philos. Trans. 1714–16 (Royal Soc.) 29 284 Fine dented, small leaved mock-privet. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 324 Evergreen Privet, Rhamnus. 1830 Times 15 Nov. 2/1 (advt.) Nursery stock... 5,000 evergreen privet, 5,000 yew. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 665/2 Henna is the Persian name..in England it is often called Egyptian Privet. 1887 Nicholson's Dict. Gard. Phillyrea,..Jasmine Box; Mock Privet. 1935 Zanesville (Ohio) Signal 2 Nov. 4/8 In California, Florida and England it [sc. henna] is cultivated for ornament and is called Egyptian privet. The dye is obtained from the leaves. 1965 D. R. Harris Plants, Animals, & Man in Outer Leeward Islands iv. 41 The zone in which all animals can graze extends about a mile south of the village and here there are..large thickets of privet (Clerodendron aculeatum), which is very thorny and browsed only by goats. 2004 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 20 Nov. (News section) 8 A member of the olive family, phillyrea is sometimes known as evergreen privet. It is, however, both more distinguished than privet and less gloomy than conifers. 3. U.S. regional. In full swamp privet. A small evergreen tree of the southern United States, Forestiera acuminata (family Oleaceae), with glossy leaves resembling those of privet. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > hedge plants > privet primpc1400 ligustre1480 privet1542 primprint1548 prim1573 ligustrum1664 English myrtle1816 wax-tree1825 Japan privet1869 swamp privet1884 primet- 1884 C. S. Sargent Rep. Forests N. Amer. 112 Forestiera acuminata... Privet... Borders of swamps and streams, in low, wet soil. 1901 C. T. Mohr Plant Life Alabama (Contrib. fr. U.S. National Herbarium VI.) 667 Swamp Privet. 1976 Amer. Jrnl. Bot. 63 1358 These areas host a variety of woody plant species... Growths of oak (Quercus spp.), willow (Salix nigra).., ash (Fraxinus spp.), and privet (Forestiera acuminata) were found. 2005 Washington Post (Nexis) 7 July h1 He has planted a tall and somewhat rangy glossy-leafed shrub named Godfrey's swamp privet. Compounds C1. General attributive and similative. privet berry n. ΚΠ 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. 81/2 Privet Berries grow in bunches, and are all black. 1818 Philos.Trans. (Royal Soc.) 108 115 The juices of many other fruits, as black cherries,..privet berries.., seem to be made only blue by mild fixed alkalis. 1983 Times 3 Oct. 28/4 Holly berries are turning red, privet berries turning from green to black. privet blossom n. ΚΠ 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 356 And there she stood apart,..pale as privet blossom is in June. 2002 Time Out (Nexis) 13 Feb. 56 The summertime reek of privet blossom coincides with Stephen's awakening into an adult world of sexuality and deceit. privet bush n. ΚΠ 1615 R. Brathwait Strappado for Divell 134 The Brier, the haw-thorne: or the Priuet bush, The Osire, Cypresse, or where th' merry Thrush, Sings out her Fa, la, la. 1860 C. D. Kirk Wooing & Warring in Wilderness 13 Just as he trod the first step of the porch, a form emerged from the shadow of a privet bush, and stood at his side. 1945 R. P. Wodehouse Hayfever Plants iii. 121 If a flowering privet bush is shaken on a still day quantities of pollen can be seen to float away. privet flower n. ΚΠ 1572 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 165 Pinkes and privett fflowers. 1749 J. Martyn tr. Virgil Bucolics ii. 18 The white privet flowers drop on the ground [L. alba ligustra cadunt]. 1871 Appletons' Jrnl. 26 Aug. 227/2 Lenore is sitting on the edge of the low bed; her cheeks are as white as privet-flowers. 1982 Times 28 June 24/5 Lime blossom is thick on the trees, and the strong-scented privet flowers are opening. privet hedge n. ΚΠ 1591 in Lyly's Wks. (1902) I. 433 The 3. and last was a Snayl mount [spiral ascent], rising to foure circles of greene priuie hedges. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 34 A-nights he puts it [sc. his beard] in a Presse..that it may come forth the next morning..straite and leuell as a line; and all the other haires, as iust and as euen, as a Priuet hedge, newly cut. 1750 I. Walton Compl. Angler v. 72 A green Caterpillar or Worm..; it was found on a Privet-hedge. 1898 H. G. Wells War of Worlds i. xvi. 166 Two men lifted out something on a white stretcher, and put this gently on the grass beneath the privet hedge. 2005 Guardian (Nexis) 3 Sept. (Home section) 8 The London front garden..was known for its neatly clipped privet hedge, its row of pansies and its patch of lawn. privet-scented adj. ΚΠ 1831 W. S. Landor Misc. in Wks. (1846) II. 633 Thro' the pale-glimmering privet-scented lane. 1983 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 12 Apr. a22/2 No daffodil/grass/ privet-scented breezes are creeping through their nasal passages into their hearts to evoke impossible dreams. C2. † privet-fly n. Obsolete rare a kind of plume moth (not identified). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Pterophoridae or Alucitidae > member of plume moth1742 privet-fly1753 plume1819 chalk pit1832 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Privet-fly, in natural history, the name of a species of fly very common on the shrub from whence it has its name. It is called the erinopterus. privet hawk n. = privet hawkmoth n. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Sphingidae > sphinx ligustri (privet hawk) privet hawkmoth1720 privet hawk1766 1766 M. Harris Aurelian 3 The Caterpillars of the Privet Hawk when first hatched, have the Horn at their tails very long. 1953 Times Recorder (Zanesville, Ohio) 18 Sept. 6- a/2 Michael..breeds colonies of moths at home to deal with his mail order business. He has a regular price list with a privet hawk costing 15 to 20 cents. 1986 Sunday Express Mag. 7 Sept. 22 (caption) The caterpillar of the privet hawk, with its..horn on the final segment. privet hawk caterpillar n. the large larva of the privet hawkmoth, which is green with oblique stripes and a tail horn. ΚΠ 1908 N.E.D. (at cited word) Privet-hawk caterpillar. 1910 Times 3 Dec. 4/3 When a privet-hawk caterpillar that has occasion to cross a gravel path, sees the Lord of the garden crouching, with spade uplifted, to meet its spring, it must surely form a poor impression of humanity. 2004 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 4 Sept. 27 The headmaster..encouraged the boys to take an interest in butterflies and moths, providing them with shoe boxes..for the Puss-moth and Privet Hawk caterpillars which they would collect on their walks. privet hawkmoth n. a large Palaearctic hawkmoth, Sphinx ligustri, which has black and pinkish bands on the hindwings and abdomen and whose larvae feed on privet and related plants. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Sphingidae > sphinx ligustri (privet hawk) privet hawkmoth1720 privet hawk1766 1720 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Eng. Insects Descr. Pl. vii The Moth..commonly called the Privet Hawk-Moth. 1859 W. S. Coleman Our Woodlands 133 The Privet..being the chief food of the caterpillar of that very beautiful insect the Privet Hawk Moth. 1926 Iowa City Press– citizen 31 Aug. 3 The privet-hawk moth increases its original weight 72,000 times during its 32 days of feeding. 1993 BBC Wildlife June 60/2 The privet hawkmoth..is commonest in southern England. Derivatives ˈprivetlike n. ΚΠ 1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 220 A thorny shrub, with a pale bark and privet-like leaves. 1894 Times 24 Oct. 8/2 A small portion of her neck..was of a delicate privet-like whiteness. 1994 Horticulture (Nexis) Apr. 65 Almost any lilac is an excellent source of cut flowers, though fragrance fans may want to avoid those species with a musky, privetlike scent. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † privetn.² Forms: 1500s privet, 1500s privette, 1500s provet. Origin: Apparently a borrowing from French. Etymon: French eprouvette. Etymology: Apparently irregularly < Middle French eprouvette (1478 in this sense as esprovetes (plural): see eprouvette n.). Obsolete. rare. A surgical instrument for exploring a wound; a surgical probe. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical instruments > [noun] > probe or sound tenta1400 probe?a1425 search?a1425 sequere mea1425 searcher?c1425 searching iron1477 prove?1541 privet1598 proof1611 style1631 seeker1658 searching instrument1663 stylet1697 stiletto1699 breast-probe1739 sound1797 sounder1875 tracer1882 1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. 6/2 The bullet may..be felt with the finger, or most fitlye with the privet or searchinge iron. 1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. sig. b ii^v/2 The Provet, or sowndinge irone..We sounde the depthe of the fistle, with this sounding irone. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online December 2020). < n.¹lOEn.²1598
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privetn.1

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† privetn.2

privetn.¹

† privetn.²