any plant of the bulbous S African genus Nerine, related to the amaryllis; several species are grown as garden or pot plants for their beautiful pink, orange, red, or white flowers. N. sarniensis is the pink-flowered Guernsey lily: family Amaryllidaceae
Word origin
Latin, from Greek nērēis a sea nymph
nerine in American English
(nəˈraini)
noun
any of several bulbous plants belonging to the genus Nerine, of the amaryllis family, native to southern Africa, having funnel-shaped red, pink, or white flowers
Word origin
[‹ NL (1820); L Nērīnē a Nereid]
Examples of 'nerine' in a sentence
nerine
A wonderful foreground to autumn bulbs such as crocus, nerine and sternbergia.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Nerine bulbs will throw up their lipstick drumsticks next month.