Smilaces

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Climbing vines of the greenbrier genus, often with prickly stems and glossy leaves, grown in gardens or used in floral decoration
2. Woody or herbaceous twining plants belonging to the greenbrier family, whose stems bear tendrils and whose foliage is prized by florists
3. Thorny climbing shrubs and vines found across temperate and tropical regions, sometimes cultivated as ornamental greenery for wreaths and arrangements

Etymology: "Smilaces" is the plural of "smilax," the Latin name for a genus of thorny climbing plants, and the Greek "smilax" was used for a climbing plant in classical authors such as Theophrastus. The plant name was taken into scientific Latin as the genus name, and English adopted "smilax" for the greenbrier vines and for a related group of plants, many of them with prickly stems. The plural "smilaces" follows the Latin third-declension pattern, which is why it looks unusual to English speakers who expect "smilaxes." Both forms are attested, and the Latin-style plural is the one that botanists and classical writers tend to prefer.