DATED used in reference to refinement or gentility: [as adj.] she had a certain lavender charm. 2 a pale blue color with a trace of mauve. # v. [trans.] perfume with lavender. Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French lavendre, based on medieval Latin lavandula. lav*en*der cot*ton (CHIEFLY BRIT. also cotton lavender) n. a small aromatic shrubby plant of the daisy family, with silvery or greenish lavenderlike foliage and yellow button flowers. Native to the Mediterranean area, it has insecticidal properties and is widely cultivated for garden plantings. Genus Santolina, family Compositae: several species, in particular