lavender
Preserved but no longer current.
"to be laid up in LAVENDER;" to be in pawn; to be out of the way for an especial purpose. From the practice among housewives of placing LAVENDER in drawers in which linen and clothes are to be kept for any period.
Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “lavender” mean?
"to be laid up in LAVENDER;" to be in pawn; to be out of the way for an especial purpose. From the practice among housewives of placing LAVENDER in drawers in which linen and clothes are to be kept for any period.
Is “lavender” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.