Gil"ly*flow`er (?), n. [OE. gilofre, gilofer, clove, OF. girofre, girofle, F. girofle: cf. F. girofl'ee gillyflower, fr. girofle, Gr. clove tree; nut + leaf, akin to E. foliage. Cf. Caryophyllus, July-flower.] Bot.
1.
A name given by old writers to the clove pink (Dianthus Caryophyllus) but now to the common stock (Matthiola incana), a cruciferous plant with showy and fragrant blossoms, usually purplish, but often pink or white.
2.
A kind of apple, of a roundish conical shape, purplish red color, and having a large core.
[Written also gilliflower.]
Clove gillflower, the clove pink. -- Marsh gillyflower, the ragged robin (Lychnis Flos-cuculi). -- Queen's, ∨ Winter, gillyflower, damewort. -- Sea gillyflower, the thrift (Armeria vulgaris). -- Wall gillyflower, the wallflower (Cheiranthus Cheiri). -- Water gillyflower, the water violet.
© Webster 1913.