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• orchid
  orchid

  noun

  any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, of temperate and tropical regions, having usually showy flowers.
• orchid-
  orchid-

  variant of orchido- before a vowel.

orchid

¹ American  

[awr-kid] / ˈɔr kɪd /

noun

• orchids
  plural

1. any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, of temperate and tropical regions, having usually showy flowers.

2. the flower of any of these plants.

3. a bluish to reddish purple.

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orchid- ² American  

1. variant of orchido- before a vowel.

   orchidology.

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orchid British  

/ ˈɔːkɪd /

noun

1. any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, often having flowers of unusual shapes and beautiful colours, specialized for pollination by certain insects See bee orchid burnt-tip orchid fly orchid frog orchid lady orchid lizard orchid man orchid monkey orchid purple-fringed orchid pyramidal orchid scented orchid spider orchid spotted orchid

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Usage

What does orchid- mean? Orchid- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning either “testicle” (testis) or "orchid." In medicine, it refers to testicles. In botany, it refers to orchid flowers. Orchid- comes from the Greek órchis, meaning “testicle.” How did the Greek word for testicle give rise to the name of a type of beautiful flower? Well, the roots of orchids were thought to resemble testicles. Learn more at our entry for orchis. Orchid- is a variant of orchido-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use orchido- article. The combining forms orchi-, as in orchiectomy, and orchio-, as in orchioplasty, are other variants of this combining form used to refer to testicles in medical terms.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• orchids
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of orchid

1835–45; < New Latin Orchideae (later Orchidaceae ) family name, equivalent to Latin orch ( is ) a plant ( see orchis) + -ideae, irregular suffix ( cf. -idae); see -id ²

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

orchid orchid- orchids

“This is so tragic,” one person commented on the gallery’s post, noting that Summers had recently bid on an orchid print they were preparing for her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Centuries of human intervention - selective breeding and propagation - have made the genetic background of many commercial orchids a "disaster", according to leading Dutch orchid breeding firm Floricultura.

From BBC ● May 14, 2026

Some may be tiny, like the orchid babies nursing on wood-eating fungi; others may be gargantuan, like the Posidonia australis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

Koja is concerned about the loss of unique indigenous trees like the giant orchid, already a problem before mining has even started.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025

I drove home with him, wearing the flight jacket, carrying the orchid.

From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt

Sometimes an incense is used worth even more than $30.00 per envelope: this contains ranjatai, an aromatic of which the perfume is compared to that of "musk mingled with orchid- flowers."

From In Ghostly Japan by Lafcadio Hearn

Marsh harriers, bearded tits, flocks of waders and overwintering ducks and geese are a regular sight for visitors, along with otters, water voles, fen raft spiders, orchids and rare sharp-leaved pondweed.

From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026

As the meadow developed, thousands of orchids became established naturally.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

The stench is important for pollination, said Brandon Tam, the Huntington’s associate curator of orchids.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

My late father-in-law loved orchids, and in his decadeslong passion he built and maintained two large greenhouses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

But although he felt sick most days for much of the day and often slept terribly at night, he kept writing and publishing books and articles, on orchids and climbing plants.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

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