aspidistra

American  

[as-pi-dis-truh] / ˌæs pɪˈdɪs trə /

noun

1. any of several plants belonging to the genus Aspidistra, of the lily family, native to eastern Asia, especially A. eliator, having large evergreen leaves often striped with white, and grown as a houseplant.

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aspidistra British  

/ ˌæspɪˈdɪstrə /

noun

1. any Asian plant of the liliaceous genus Aspidistra , esp A. lurida, a popular house plant with long tough evergreen leaves and purplish flowers borne on the ground

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Etymology

Origin of aspidistra

1815–25; < New Latin, equivalent to aspid- (< Greek: stem of aspís shield) + -istra, extracted from Tupistra genus of liliaceous plants < Greek typís mallet + Latin -tra plural of -trum noun suffix denoting instrument

Example Sentences

From Aspidistra to ZZ, the following plants all flourish in low light:

From Seattle Times • Jan. 29, 2022

George Orwell’s “Keep the Aspidistra Flying” may represent the gold standard here.

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2018

The reader could be forgiven for believing that “Keep the Aspidistra Flying” has a happy ending; in the last scene Comstock is contentedly listening to the baby moving inside Rosemary’s stomach.

From Economist • Aug. 22, 2017

In “Keep the Aspidistra Flying,” Gordon Comstock’s landlady spies on him, making him feel a loss of privacy and liberty.

From Washington Post • Feb. 24, 2017

Aspidistra lurida is a favourite pot-plant, bearing large green or white-striped leaves on an underground stem, and small dark purplish, cup-shaped flowers close to the ground.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 7 "Arundel, Thomas" to "Athens" by Various