trillium

[ tril-ee-uhm ]

noun
  1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Trillium, of the lily family, having a whorl of three leaves from the center of which rises a solitary, three-petalled flower.

Origin of trillium

1
<New Latin (Linnaeus), apparently alteration of Swedish trilling triplet, alluding to the foliation

Words Nearby trillium

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How to use trillium in a sentence

  • I plucked my first dandelion on a meadow slope on the 23d, and in the woods, protected by a high ledge, my first trillium.

    A Year in the Fields | John Burroughs
  • See how the banks are all enamelled with the pale hepatica, the painted trillium, and the delicate pink-veined spring beauty.

    Little Rivers | Henry van Dyke
  • Betty had pressed a white trillium that made an imposing picture, retaining all its beauty and lines.

    Girl Scouts in the Adirondacks | Lillian Elizabeth Roy
  • The boys had the painted trillium in their collection but had never seen the white one.

    Girl Scouts in the Adirondacks | Lillian Elizabeth Roy
  • The very short rootstock and strong terminal bud of a trillium or Birthroot.

British Dictionary definitions for trillium

trillium

/ (ˈtrɪljəm) /


noun
  1. any herbaceous plant of the genus Trillium, of Asia and North America, having a whorl of three leaves at the top of the stem with a single central white, pink, or purple three-petalled flower: family Trilliaceae

Origin of trillium

1
C18: from New Latin, modification by Linnaeus of Swedish trilling triplet

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