What is "clove gillyflower"

Gillyflower \Gil"ly*flow`er\, n. [OE. gilofre, gilofer, clove, OF. girofre, girofle, F. girofle: cf. F. girofl['e]e gillyflower, fr. girofle, Gr. ? clove tree; ? nut + ? leaf, akin to E. foliage. Cf. Caryophyllus, July-flower.] [Written also gilliflower.] (Bot.)

1. A name given by old writers to the clove pink ( Dianthus Caryophyllus) but now to the common stock ( Matthiola incana), a cruciferous plant with showy and fragrant blossoms, usually purplish, but often pink or white.

2. A kind of apple, of a roundish conical shape, purplish red color, and having a large core.

   Clove gillyflower, the clove pink.

   Marsh gillyflower, the ragged robin ( Lychnis Flos-cuculi).

   Queen's gillyflower, or Winter gillyflower, damewort.

   Sea gillyflower, the thrift ( Armeria vulgaris).

   Wall gillyflower, the wallflower ( Cheiranthus Cheiri).

   Water gillyflower, the water violet.

Clove \Clove\, n. [OE. clow, fr. F. clou nail, clou de girofle a clove, lit. nail of clove, fr. L. clavus nail, perh. akin to clavis key, E. clavicle. The clove was so called from its resemblance to a nail. So in D. kruidnagel clove, lit. herb-nail or spice-nail. Cf. Cloy.] A very pungent aromatic spice, the unexpanded flower bud of the clove tree ( Eugenia aromatica syn. Caryophullus aromatica), a native of the Molucca Isles.

Clove camphor. (Chem.) See Eugenin.

Clove gillyflower, Clove pink (Bot.), any fragrant self-colored carnation.