lily

[ lil-ee ]

noun,plural lil·ies.
  1. any scaly-bulbed plant of the genus Lilium, having showy, funnel-shaped or bell-shaped flowers.: Compare lily family.

  2. the flower or the bulb of such a plant.

  1. any of various related or similar plants or their flowers, as the mariposa lily or the calla lily.

  2. fleur-de-lis, especially as the symbol of France.

  3. Bowling. a split in which the five, seven, and ten pins remain standing.

adjective
  1. white as a lily: her lily hands.

  2. delicately fair: a lily maiden.

  1. pure; unsullied: the lily truth.

  2. pale; fragile; weak.

Idioms about lily

  1. gild the lily. gild1 (def. 4).

Origin of lily

1
before 1000; Middle English, Old English lilie<Latin līlium; compare Greek leírion

Other words from lily

  • lil·y·like, adjective

Words Nearby lily

Other definitions for Lily (2 of 2)

Lily

or Lil·ly

[ lil-e ]

noun
  1. a female given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lily in a sentence

  • Meanwhile Fleurette had her nourishing food, and grew more like the ghost of a lily every day.

  • The land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily.

  • She was fair as a lily, with bright golden hair, and bore no resemblance to this dark-eyed, black-browed wench.

    The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
  • lily Pendleton was known to have once essayed an erotic novel, and had read a few chapters to some of her closer friends.

  • The ponds were half covered with the white water-lily, and some other aquatic plants of the country.

British Dictionary definitions for lily

lily

/ (ˈlɪlɪ) /


nounplural lilies
  1. any liliaceous perennial plant of the N temperate genus Lilium, such as the Turk's-cap lily and tiger lily, having scaly bulbs and showy typically pendulous flowers

  2. the bulb or flower of any of these plants

  1. any of various similar or related plants, such as the water lily, plantain lily, and day lily

Origin of lily

1
Old English, from Latin līlium; related to Greek leirion lily

Derived forms of lily

  • lily-like, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with lily

lily

see gild the lily.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.