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avalanche lily

American

noun

either of two plants, Erythronium grandiflorum or E. montanum, of the lily family, of the mountains of northwestern North America, having nodding yellow or white flowers.

Etymology

Origin of avalanche lily

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; apparently so called because it is found near the snow line or the edge of glaciers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.