butterfly orchid
Americannoun
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an epiphytic South American orchid, Oncidium papilio, having large yellow and reddish-brown flowers.
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either of two terrestrial Old World orchids, Habenaria chlorantha or H. bifolia, having long clusters of greenish-white flowers.
Etymology
Origin of butterfly orchid
First recorded in 1590–1600
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When she calms herself she finds she has snipped her prize butterfly orchid.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
She bends to her special beauty, the butterfly orchid she smuggled back from Hawaii two years ago.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
