whin

A noun referring to any of several types of spiny shrubs or hard rocks, including a dense evergreen shrub with fragrant yellow flowers, a small Eurasian shrub used for dye, or various hard colored rocks such as chert or basalt.

• 🇩🇪Substantiv, das verschiedene stachelige Sträucher oder harte Gesteinsarten bezeichnet, darunter ein dicht wachsender immergrüner Strauch mit duftenden gelben Blüten, ein kleiner eurasischer Strauch, der zum Färben verwendet wird, sowie verschiedene harte farbige Gesteine wie Feuerstein oder Basalt.

1. Spiny shrub C1 formal

   A very spiny and dense evergreen shrub with fragrant golden-yellow flowers, common throughout western Europe.

   • The hillside was covered in whin, its yellow flowers bright against the green.
   • She carefully avoided the sharp thorns of the whin bush.
   • Whin is often found growing wild in coastal areas.

   🇩🇪Stechginster

   Synonyme: furzegorse

2. Dye-producing shrub C1 formal

   A small Eurasian shrub having clusters of yellow flowers that yield a dye; common as a weed in Britain and the United States, sometimes grown as an ornamental.

   • The whin's flowers were used to produce a yellow dye.
   • Whin can be an invasive weed in some regions.
   • Gardeners sometimes cultivate whin for its bright blossoms.

   🇩🇪Färberstrauch

   Synonyme: furzegorse

3. Hard rock C2 formal

   Any of various hard colored rocks, especially those consisting of chert or basalt.

   • The quarry extracted whin for road construction.
   • Whin is a durable material used in building foundations.
   • Geologists studied the whin formations in the area.

   🇩🇪Hartgestein

   Synonyme: trapwhinstone