cattleya

[ kat-lee-uh, kat-lee-uh, -ley-uh ]

noun
  1. any of several tropical American orchids of the genus Cattleya, having showy flowers ranging from white to purple.

Origin of cattleya

1
1820–30; after William Cattley (died 1832), English botany enthusiast; see -a2

Words Nearby cattleya

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cattleya in a sentence

  • Our cattleya House is 187 feet long, 24 feet wide; glass screens divide it into seven compartments.

    The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle
  • Here also is cattleya bicolor Measuresiana, an exquisite example of a species always charming to my taste.

    The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle
  • cattleya Sanderiana was first discovered under circumstances rather odd.

    The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle
  • Like cattleya Schroderae it filled a gap when discovered in 1883, for there was no species at the time which flowered in July.

    The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle
  • This was cattleya Sanderiana—sometimes as much as eleven inches across; in colour, a tender rosy-mauve.

    The Woodlands Orchids | Frederick Boyle

British Dictionary definitions for cattleya

cattleya

/ (ˈkætlɪə) /


noun
  1. any tropical American orchid of the genus Cattleya, cultivated for their purplish-pink or white showy flowers

Origin of cattleya

1
C19: New Latin, named after William Cattley (died 1832), English botanist

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