I. ˈalˌvär, ˈäl- noun
( -s )
Usage: usually capitalized
Etymology: Tamil Ār̤vār, from ār̤- to sink, be immersed in meditation
: one of a group of southern Indian Vaishnava saints and devotional writers of the 7th to 9th centuries A.D.
II. ˈȯlˌvär noun
( -s )
Etymology: Swedish ålvar
: the plant community consisting typically of mosses and calciphilous herbaceous plants that grows on steppelike shallow alkaline soils overlying Scandinavian limestones