whin

• Nom désignant plusieurs types de buissons épineux ou de roches dures, notamment un arbuste dense et sempervirent à fleurs jaunes parfumées, un petit arbuste eurasien utilisé pour la teinture, ou diverses roches dures et colorées telles que le silex ou le basalte.

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.

1. Spiny shrubC1formal

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

   Ajonc

   • 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.

   Synonymesfurzegorse

2. Dye-producing shrubC1formal

   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.

   Genêt à balais

   • 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.

   Synonymesfurzegorse

3. Hard rockC2formal

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

   Roche dure

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

   Synonymestrapwhinstone