lil⋅y
[lil-ee] 
noun, plural lil⋅ies, adjective | 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. |
| 3. | any of various related or similar plants or their flowers, as the mariposa lily or the calla lily. |
| 4. | fleur-de-lis, esp. as the symbol of France. |
| 5. | Bowling. a split in which the five, seven, and ten pins remain standing. |
| 6. | white as a lily: her lily hands. |
| 7. | delicately fair: a lily maiden. |
| 8. | pure; unsullied: the lily truth. |
| 9. | pale; fragile; weak. |
| 10. | gild the lily. gild 1 (def. 4). |
bef. 1000; ME, OE lilie < L līlium; cf. Gk leírion
Related forms:
Lil⋅y
[lil-e] | a female given name. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| lil·y (lĭl'ē) n. pl. lil·ies
[Middle English lilie, from Old English, from Latin līlium.] |
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Lily
Lil"y\ (l[i^]l"[y^]), n.; pl. Lilies (-[i^]z). [AS. lilie, L. lilium, Gr. lei`rion. Cf. Flower-de-luce.]1. (Bot.) A plant and flower of the genus Lilium, endogenous bulbous plants, having a regular perianth of six colored pieces, six stamens, and a superior three-celled ovary. Note: There are nearly fifty species, all found in the North Temperate zone. Lilium candidum and L. longiflorum are the common white lilies of gardens; L. Philadelphicum is the wild red lily of the Atlantic States; L. Chalcedonicum is supposed to be the "lily of the field" in our Lord's parable; L. auratum is the great gold-banded lily of Japan. 2. (Bot.) A name given to handsome flowering plants of several genera, having some resemblance in color or form to a true lily, as Pancratium, Crinum, Amaryllis, Nerine, etc. 3. That end of a compass needle which should point to the north; -- so called as often ornamented with the figure of a lily or fleur-de-lis. But sailing further, it veers its lily to the west. --Sir T. Browne. African lily (Bot.), the blue-flowered Agapanthus umbellatus. Atamasco lily (Bot.), a plant of the genus Zephyranthes (Z. Atamasco), having a white and pink funnelform perianth, with six petal-like divisions resembling those of a lily. --Gray. Blackberry lily (Bot.), the Pardanthus Chinensis, the black seeds of which form a dense mass like a blackberry. Bourbon lily (Bot.), Lilium candidum. See Illust. Butterfly lily. (Bot.) Same as Mariposa lily, in the Vocabulary. Lily beetle (Zool.), a European beetle (Crioceris merdigera) which feeds upon the white lily. Lily daffodil (Bot.), a plant of the genus Narcissus, and its flower. Lily encrinite (Paleon.), a fossil encrinite, esp. Encrinus liliiformis. See Encrinite. Lily hyacinth (Bot.), a plant of the genus Hyacinthus. Lily iron, a kind of harpoon with a detachable head of peculiar shape, used in capturing swordfish. Lily of the valley (Bot.), a low perennial herb (Convallaria majalis), having a raceme of nodding, fragrant, white flowers. Lily pad, the large floating leaf of the water lily. [U. S.] --Lowell. Tiger lily (Bot.), Lilium tigrinum, the sepals of which are blotched with black. Turk's-cap lily (Bot.), Lilium Martagon, a red lily with recurved sepals; also, the similar American lily, L. superbum. Water lily (Bot.), the Nymph[ae]a, a plant with floating roundish leaves, and large flowers having many petals, usually white, but sometimes pink, red, blue, or yellow. [See Illust. of Nymph[ae]a.]Lily
Lil"y\, n. (Auction Bridge) A royal spade; -- usually in pl. See Royal spade, below.Cite This Source
lily
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Lily
(LIsp LibrarY) A C++ class library by Roger Sheldon
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(ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/uploads/lily-0.1.tar.gz).
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Lily
The Hebrew name shushan or shoshan, i.e., "whiteness", was used as the general name of several plants common to Syria, such as the tulip, iris, anemone, gladiolus, ranunculus, etc. Some interpret it, with much probability, as denoting in the Old Testament the water-lily (Nymphoea lotus of Linn.), or lotus (Cant. 2:1, 2; 2:16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2, 3; 7:2). "Its flowers are large, and they are of a white colour, with streaks of pink. They supplied models for the ornaments of the pillars and the molten sea" (1 Kings 7:19, 22, 26; 2 Chr. 4:5). In the Canticles its beauty and fragrance shadow forth the preciousness of Christ to the Church. Groser, however (Scrip. Nat. Hist.), strongly argues that the word, both in the Old and New Testaments, denotes liliaceous plants in general, or if one genus is to be selected, that it must be the genus Iris, which is "large, vigorous, elegant in form, and gorgeous in colouring." The lilies (Gr. krinia) spoken of in the New Testament (Matt. 6:28; Luke 12:27) were probably the scarlet martagon (Lilium Chalcedonicum) or "red Turk's-cap lily", which "comes into flower at the season of the year when our Lord's sermon on the mount is supposed to have been delivered. It is abundant in the district of Galilee; and its fine scarlet flowers render it a very conspicous and showy object, which would naturally attract the attention of the hearers" (Balfour's Plants of the Bible). Of the true "floral glories of Palestine" the pheasant's eye (Adonis Palestina), the ranunuculus (R. Asiaticus), and the anemone (A coronaria), the last named is however, with the greatest probability regarded as the "lily of the field" to which our Lord refers. "Certainly," says Tristram (Nat. Hist. of the Bible), "if, in the wondrous richness of bloom which characterizes the land of Israel in spring, any one plant can claim pre-eminence, it is the anemone, the most natural flower for our Lord to pluck and seize upon as an illustration, whether walking in the fields or sitting on the hill-side." "The white water-lily (Nymphcea alba) and the yellow water-lily (Nuphar lutea) are both abundant in the marshes of the Upper Jordan, but have no connection with the lily of Scripture."
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lily
see gild the lily.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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lily
the common name applied to herbaceous flowering plants belonging to the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae. The genus contains between 80 and 100 species, native to the temperate areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Lilies are prized as ornamental plants, and they have been extensively hybridized.
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