O.E.
lilie, from L.
lilia, pl. of
lilium "a lily," cognate with Gk.
leirion, both perhaps borrowed from a corrupted pronunciation of an Egyptian word. Used in O.T. to translate Heb.
shoshanna and in N.T. to translate Gk.
krinon. The color sense of "pale, bloodless" led to
lily-livered "cowardly" (1605, in "Macbeth;" see
liver; the healthy liver is typically dark reddish-brown). The
lily of the valley translates L.
lilium convallium (Vulgate), a literal rendition of the Heb. term in Song of Solomon ii.1. It apparently was applied to a particular plant (
Convallaria majalis) first by 16c. Ger. herbalists.
[lil-ee] 
noun, plural lil⋅ies, adjective 
