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twayblade

 - 3 dictionary results

tway⋅blade

  [twey-bleyd]
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–noun
any of various orchids, esp. of the genera Listera and Liparis, characterized by two nearly opposite broad leaves.
Origin:
1570–80; dial. tway (apocopated form of OE twēgen twain ) + blade
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tway·blade   (twā'blād')   
n.  Any of numerous small terrestrial orchids of the genera Liparis and Listera, having usually two basal leaves and a terminal cluster of greenish or purplish flowers.

[Obsolete tway, two (short for Middle English twaine; see twain) + blade (translation of Medieval Latin bifolium, two-leaf).]
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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Encyclopedia

twayblade

any member of either of two genera of orchids, family Orchidaceae: Liparis and Listera. Liparis, also known as false twayblade, with about 320 species, is distributed worldwide. Each plant has broad, paired leaves, and most have dull-coloured, purplish flowers borne in a terminal spike. The flowers of the large twayblade (Liparis lilifolia) of eastern North America have thin, slender side petals and a broad lip. The fen orchid (Liparis loeselii) is a similar species found in northern Eurasia.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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