gladiola

glad·i·o·lus

G0139400 (glăd′ē-ō′ləs)n. pl. glad·i·o·li (-lī, -lē) or glad·i·o·lus·es 1. also glad·i·o·la (-lə) Botany Any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus, native chiefly to tropical and southern Africa and having sword-shaped leaves and showy, variously colored, irregular flowers arranged in one-sided spikes. Also called sword lily.2. Anatomy The large middle section of the sternum.

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[Middle English gladiol, from Latin gladiolus, wild iris, diminutive of gladius, sword; see gladiator.]

glad•i•o•lus

(ˌglæd iˈoʊ ləs)

n., pl. -lus, -li (-lī), -lus•es for 1; -li for 2. 1. any plant of the genus Gladiolus, of the iris family, native esp. to Africa, having erect, sword-shaped leaves and spikes of flowers in a variety of colors. 2. the middle segment of the sternum. [1560–70; < Latin: small sword, sword lily =gladi(us) sword + -olus -ole¹]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

gladiola - any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivatedglad, gladiolus, sword lilyiridaceous plant - any bulbous plant of the family Iridaceaegenus Gladiolus - gladiolas