asphodel

American  

[as-fuh-del] / ˈæs fəˌdɛl /

noun

1. any of various southern European plants of the genera Asphodelus and Asphodeline, of the lily family, having white, pink, or yellow flowers in elongated clusters.

2. any of various other plants, as the daffodil.

---

asphodel British  

/ ˈæsfəˌdɛl /

noun

1. any of various S European liliaceous plants of the genera Asphodelus and Asphodeline, having clusters of white or yellow flowers Compare bog asphodel

2. any of various other plants, such as the daffodil

3. an unidentified flower of Greek legend, probably a narcissus, said to cover the Elysian fields

---

Etymology

Origin of asphodel

1590–1600; < Latin asphodelus < Greek asphódelos the asphodel. See daffodil

Example Sentences

Last month’s event, Wakayama says, was almost all older people — one of them terminally ill and considering Asphodel House as their last stop.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 24, 2023

In a program note, he observes that Asphodel Meadows” is the Homeric name for the underworld of the dead but stresses that his ballet is principally abstract.

From New York Times • May 13, 2016

And you could surely argue that Tamara Rojo made just as outstanding a contribution to Asphodel Meadows as MacFarlane did, and that Akram Khan's dancing was even more key to Gnosis than Sunahata's drumming.

From The Guardian • Mar. 18, 2011

Asphodel Meadows is an abstract piece, but it's an abstraction through which the emotion bleeds freely.

From The Guardian • May 8, 2010

“A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?”

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan