balaustine means the red roselike flower of the pomegranate, having a bitter taste and sometimes used as an astringent in folk medicine. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.
Why “balaustine” is a great word
BALAUSTINE — [Noun] The red, roselike flower of the pomegranate, having a bitter taste and formerly used as an astringent in folk medicine. From the Latin balaustinus, from the Greek βαλαύστιον (balaústion, "flower of the wild pomegranate"). First attested in English in 1671. Unlike "pomegranate," which conjures the heavy, seed-filled fruit, or "astringent," a clinical category of effect, balaustine is the specific, bitter source—the forgotten botanical actor in old apothecary jars. It is the crumpled scarlet petal bleeding a faint stain into vinegar, the drying blossoms strung in a dim shed for their stringent virtue, the vivid ornament pressed into medicinal service. A beauty cultivated not for pleasure, but for its capacity to draw things closed.
Etymology
Latin balaustinus
noun
- The red roselike flower of the pomegranate, having a bitter taste and sometimes used as an astringent in folk medicine.