Madonna lily

American  

noun

1. a lily, Lilium candidum, having clusters of pure white, bell-shaped flowers.

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Madonna lily British  

noun

1. Also called: Annunciation lily.  a perennial widely cultivated Mediterranean lily plant, Lilium candidum, with white trumpet-shaped flowers

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Etymology

Origin of Madonna lily

First recorded in 1875–80; from the flower's frequent appearance in paintings of the Virgin Mary because of its association with purity

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Madonna lily

Before that time, there was a lily known as the Easter lily, but whose right name is the lilium candidum or Madonna lily.

From Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear Or, Ten-Minute Talks with Colored Chalks by B. J. (Bert Joseph) Griswold

Two kinds should be in all gardens—the white Madonna lily, and the orange tiger lily.

From What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes by Dorothy Canfield Fisher

She was bending at the moment to cut a tall Madonna lily from a sheaf that grew close to the path.

From The Odds And Other Stories by Ethel M. (Ethel May) Dell

There is a large lily with a bunch of sweet-smelling flowers, not unlike the Madonna lily, but the flower is more notched and less of a funnel.

From The Incomparable 29th and the "River Clyde" by George Davidson

For example, he records that the stamens of the Madonna lily have a different smell from the flower itself, and that the berries of the bay tree are almost, but not quite, round.

From The Old English Herbals by Eleanour Sinclair Rohde