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freesia

[ free-zhee-uh, -zee-uh, -zhuh ]
/ ˈfri ʒi ə, -zi ə, -ʒə /
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noun
any of several plants belonging to the genus Freesia, of the iris family, native to southern Africa, having fragrant white, yellow, or sometimes rose-colored, tubular flowers.
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Origin of freesia

1880–85; <New Latin; named after E. M. Fries (1794–1878), Swedish botanist; see -ia
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use freesia in a sentence

  • We have had our tea and the sunlight slants in over the white freesia and white hyacinths.

    Tante|Anne Douglas Sedgwick
  • The freesia and the oxalis are of the "Cape" group of bulbs, and when started in the fall should blossom in four or five months.

    Gardening for Little Girls|Olive Hyde Foster
  • One of them is called freesia (Fig. 371) and if I could have but one kind of bulb to flower in the winter, I should choose this.

  • On each side there is a hyacinth just starting and in front a little freesia in bloom.

British Dictionary definitions for freesia

freesia
/ (ˈfriːzɪə, ˈfriːʒə) /

noun
any iridaceous plant of the genus Freesia, of southern Africa, cultivated for their white, yellow, or pink tubular fragrant flowers

Word Origin for freesia

C19: New Latin, named after F. H. T. Freese (died 1876), German physician
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
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