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• arethusa
  arethusa

  noun

  an orchid, Arethusa bulbosa, of eastern North America, having a solitary pink flower with a blotched, fringed lip: now rare.
• Arethusa
  Arethusa

  noun

  Greek myth a nymph who was changed into a spring on the island of Ortygia to escape the amorous advances of the river god Alpheus

arethusa

American  

[ar-uh-thoo-zuh] / ˌær əˈθu zə /

noun

1. Also called dragon's mouth, swamp pink.  an orchid, Arethusa bulbosa, of eastern North America, having a solitary pink flower with a blotched, fringed lip: now rare.

2. (initial capital letter) a nymph who was changed into a spring to save her when she was being pursued by the river god Alpheus.

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Arethusa ¹ British  

/ ˌærɪˈθjuːzə /

noun

1. Greek myth a nymph who was changed into a spring on the island of Ortygia to escape the amorous advances of the river god Alpheus

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arethusa ² British  

/ ˌærɪˈθjuːzə /

noun

1. a North American orchid, Arethusa bulbosa, having one long narrow leaf and one rose-purple flower fringed with yellow

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Etymology

Origin of arethusa

1810–20; (< New Latin ) < Greek Aréthousa

Example Sentences

ARETHUSA, in Greek mythology, a nymph who gave her name to a spring in Elis and to another in the island of Ortygia near Syracuse.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 5 "Arculf" to "Armour, Philip" by Various

Enter ARETHUSA, L., with candle; she lights another; and passes to door, R., which she unbolts.

From Plays of William E. Henley and R.L. Stevenson by Henley, William Ernest

I was that man's bo'sun, I was, aboard the ARETHUSA; and we was like two brothers.

From Plays of William E. Henley and R.L. Stevenson by Henley, William Ernest