(n.) A name of several kinds of water lilies; as Nelumbium
speciosum, used in religious ceremonies, anciently in Egypt, and to
this day in Asia; Nelumbium luteum, the American lotus; and Nymphaea
Lotus and N. caerulea, the respectively white-flowered and
blue-flowered lotus of modern Egypt, which, with Nelumbium speciosum,
are figured on its ancient monuments.
(n.) The lotus of the lotuseaters, probably a tree found in
Northern Africa, Sicily, Portugal, and Spain (Zizyphus Lotus), the
fruit of which is mildly sweet. It was fabled by the ancients to make
strangers who ate of it forget their native country, or lose all desire
to return to it.
(n.) The lote, or nettle tree. See Lote.
(n.) A genus (Lotus) of leguminous plants much resembling clover.
(n.) An ornament much used in Egyptian architecture, generally
asserted to have been suggested by the Egyptian water lily.
