金木犀

Japanese

金木犀 (kinmokusei): The sweet osmanthus, with orange blossoms.

Kanji in this term
金	木	犀
きん Grade: 1	もく Grade: 1	せい Jinmeiyō
on'yomi

Etymology

Compound of 金 (kin, “gold, golden”) +‎ 木犀 (mokusei, “sweet/fragrant osmanthus”).

Noun

金(きん)木(もく)犀(せい) or 金木犀(キンモクセイ) • (kinmokusei) 

1. The orange-blooming variety of the sweet or fragrant olive, Osmanthus fragrans.

Usage notes

As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as キンモクセイ.

See also

• 丹桂(たんけい) (tankei): golden osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans)
• 銀木犀(ぎんもくせい) (ginmokusei): white-blooming variety of the fragrant olive
• 木犀(もくせい) (mokusei): the fragrant olive in general
• 桂花(けいか) (keika)