Je*ru"sa*lem (?), n. [Gr. , fr. Heb. Yrshalaim.]
The chief city of Palestine, intimately associated with the glory of the Jewish nation, and the life and death of Jesus Christ.
Jerusalem artichoke [Perh. a corrupt. of It. girasole i.e., sunflower, or turnsole. See Gyre, Solar.] Bot. (a) An American plant, a perennial species of sunflower (Helianthus tuberosus), whose tubers are sometimes used as food. (b) One of the tubers themselves. -- Jerusalem cherry Bot., the popular name of either of either of two species of Solanum (S. Pseudo-capsicum and S. capsicastrum), cultivated as ornamental house plants. They bear bright red berries of about the size of cherries. -- Jerusalem oak Bot., an aromatic goosefoot (Chenopodium Botrys), common about houses and along roadsides. -- Jerusalem sage Bot., a perennial herb of the Mint family (Phlomis tuberosa). -- Jerusalem thorn Bot., a spiny, leguminous tree (Parkinsonia aculeata), widely dispersed in warm countries, and used for hedges. -- The New Jerusalem, Heaven; the Celestial City.
© Webster 1913.