Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

Perhaps you've already guessed this one!  Lilac Street evokes visions of a road lined with the fragrant spring blooms of the Syringa vulgaris.

In the language of flowers, the purple lilac signifies the first blush of love, and the white, purity.  The genus name Syringa is almost self-evident, derived from the Greek syrinx, meaning hollow tube or pipe.  It refers to the pith in the shoots of some species that may be easily hollowed out.  The wood of the lilac is close grained, extremely hard and one of the densest in Europe, where lilac wood has been traditionally used for musical instruments, and other objects such as knife handles.  The wood is often decoratively engraved.  The common name lilac is derived from Arabic-Persian lilak or nilak, meaning bluish.  In Mediterranean countries, where lilacs bloom near Easter time, lilacs are called paschalia^[1].^.

Lilacs are a popular and common flowering shrub found growing in profusion in Potton, scenting the air with sweet aroma of spring.  Often vestiges of old homesteads may be located because the lilacs once planted there still survive.