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cattleya

American

[kat-lee-uh, kat-lee-uh, -ley-uh] / ˈkæt li ə, kætˈli ə, -ˈleɪ ə /

noun

any of several tropical American orchids of the genus Cattleya, having showy flowers ranging from white to purple.

cattleya British

/ ˈkætlɪə /

noun

any tropical American orchid of the genus Cattleya, cultivated for their purplish-pink or white showy flowers

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cattleya

1820–30; after William Cattley (died 1832), English botany enthusiast; see -a ²

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.

Toppled from the throne is the cattleya: the frilled grandmotherly orchid that forms the stuff of corsages.

From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2019

I say that glossum and that cattleya has been moved.

From A Life's Eclipse by Nash, J.

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