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The Collaborative International Dictionary
Citrus bergamia

Bergamot \Ber"ga*mot\ (b[~e]r"g[.a]*m[o^]t), n. [F. bergamote, fr. It. bergamotta; prob. a corruption of Turk. beg arm[=u]di a lord's pear.]

  1. (Bot.)

    1. A tree of the Orange family ( Citrus bergamia), having a roundish or pear-shaped fruit, from the rind of which an essential oil of delicious odor is extracted, much prized as a perfume. Also, the fruit.

    2. A variety of mint ( Mentha aquatica, var. glabrata).

  2. The essence or perfume made from the fruit.

  3. A variety of pear.
    --Johnson.

  4. A variety of snuff perfumed with bergamot.

    The better hand . . . gives the nose its bergamot.
    --Cowper.

  5. A coarse tapestry, manufactured from flock of cotton or hemp, mixed with ox's or goat's hair; -- said to have been invented at Bergamo, Italy. Encyc. Brit.

    Wild bergamot (Bot.), an American herb of the Mint family ( Monarda fistulosa).