alvar
1 of 2noun (1)
al·var
ˈȯlˌvär
plural -s
: the plant community consisting typically of mosses and calciphilous herbaceous plants that grows on steppelike shallow alkaline soils overlying Scandinavian limestones
Alvar
2 of 2noun (2)
Al·var
ˈalˌvär,
ˈäl-
plural -s
: one of a group of southern Indian Vaishnava saints and devotional writers of the 7th to 9th centuries a.d.
Word History
Etymology
Noun (1)
Swedish ålvar
Noun (2)
Tamil Ār̤vār, from ār̤- to sink, be immersed in meditation
First Known Use
Noun (1)
1917, in the meaning defined above
Noun (2)
1865, in the meaning defined above