orris

English

Etymology 1

Noun

orris (countable and uncountable, plural orrises)

1. Any of several irises that have a fragrant root, especially .
2. The fragrant root of such an iris.
   • 1826, Samuel Adams, Sarah Adams, The Complete Servant, page 169,

     Drop twelve drops of genuine oil of rhodium on a lump of loaf-sugar ; grind this wel in a glass mortar, and mix it thoroughly with three pounds of orris powder.

   • 1998, Claire Kowalchik, William H. Hylton, Orris, entry in Rodale′s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs, page 406,

     Orris is the part of the florentine iris you don′t see — the rhizome. […] The ancient Egyptians and Greeks learned that the bland-smelling orris root would take on a remarkable fragrance if dried for at least two years.

   • 2000, Lady Sabrina, The Witch′s Master Grimoire, page 122,

     Next place your hair, the rose quartz, some of the orris root powder, and the candle drippings into the box.

Etymology 2

Contracted from orfrays, or from arras.

Noun

orris (countable and uncountable, plural orrises)

1. A type of gold or silver lace.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Johnson to this entry?)

2. A pattern in which gold lace or silver lace is worked, especially one in which the edges are ornamented with conical figures placed at equal distances, with spots between them.

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “orris”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)