- any widely cultivated herbaceous garden plant of the genus Alyssum, having clusters of small yellow or white flowers: family Brassicaceae (crucifers)
See also sweet alyssum
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
a•lys•sum
(ə lis′əm),USA pronunciation n.
- any of various plants belonging to the genus Alyssum, of the mustard family, having clusters of small yellow or white flowers.
- any of several related plants of the genus Aurinia, as A. saxatilis, a widely cultivated species with yellow flowers.
- See sweet alyssum.
- Greek, neuter of ályssos curing (canine) madness, equivalent. to a- a-6 + lýss(a) madness + -os adjective, adjectival suffix
- Neo-Latin; Latin alysson
- 1545–55
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
alyssum /ˈælɪsəm/ n
'alyssum' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):