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dahlia

 - 3 dictionary results

dahl⋅ia

[dal-yuh, dahl- or, especially Brit., deyl-]
–noun
1. any composite plant of the genus Dahlia, native to Mexico and Central America and widely cultivated for its showy, variously colored flower heads.
2. the flower or tuberous root of a dahlia.
3. a pale violet or amethyst color.
–adjective
4. of the color dahlia.

Origin:
1791; < NL, named after Anders Dahl (d. 1789), Swedish botanist; see -ia
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dahl·ia   (dāl'yə, däl'-, dāl'-)   
n.  
  1. Any of several plants of the genus Dahlia native to the mountains of Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, having tuberous roots and showy, rayed, variously colored flower heads.

  2. The flower head of one of these plants.


[New Latin Dahlia, genus name, after Anders Dahl (1751-1787), Swedish botanist.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

dahlia 
1804, named 1791 for Anders Dahl, Sw. botanist who discovered it in Mexico. No blue variety had ever been cultivated, hence "blue dahlia," fig. for "something impossible or unattainable" (1880).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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