lily
/ˈlɪli
/noun (plural lilies)
1A bulbous plant with large trumpet-shaped, typically fragrant, flowers on a tall, slender stem.
- Genus Lilium, family Liliaceae (the lily family). This family includes many flowering bulbs, such as bluebells, hyacinths, and tulips. Several plants are often placed in different families, especially the Alliaceae (onions and their relatives), Aloaceae (aloes), and Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis, daffodils, jonquil), and as many as 38 families are sometimes recognized.
- This is also the time to plant lilies, tulips and alliums for spring colour.
- Nico and Jean will take us on a tour of their facilities showing us the expanse of daffodils, tulips, lilies and delphiniums.
1.1 short for water lily.A whole new world of gardening awaits you when you go searching for water lettuce, water hyacinths, lilies and prairie grass....
- Borland takes me on a tour of the back end of the distillery, where the waste water is filtered through reed beds full of bulrushes and lilies.
- We would play around the fountains, and if we had money to hire a boat from the boating club, go boating in the ponds navigating carefully through a crowd of lotuses and lilies.
1.2Used in names of other plants with flowers or leaves similar to those of the lily, e.g. arum lily.Rather brace yourself for bunches of fresh arum lilies, proteas, flame lilies and aloe leaves....
- Studies of seed germination, leaf development and the onset of thermogenesis during flowering in Arum lilies all provide evidence of mitochondrial heterogeneity.
- They gave the odd lilies the name of Maiden Lilies, for they had the same colorations of the pale skinned, blue haired, dark haired women of the village.
2A heraldic fleur-de-lis.‘The badge does indeed combine the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower with a cradle and the fleur de lis, or lily,’ explains Tim Pike.
Derivatives
lilied
- Don't let this San Francisco gay bar's funereal front, with its large and lilied flower arrangement, get you down.
- By lilied pools where the bull moose cools and wallows in huge content; By rocky lairs where the pig-eyed bears peered at our tiny tent.
Origin
Old English lilie, from Latin lilium, from Greek leirion.
Rhymes
- persnickety
- persnickitiness
- persnickityness
- person
- -person
- persona
- personable
- personableness
- personably
- persona designata
- personage
- persona grata
- personal
- personal action
- personal ad
- personal advertisement
- personal alarm
- personal allowance
- personal appearance
- personal assistant
- personal banker
- personal best
- personal bill
- personal call
- personal caller