mariposa lily

[ mar-uh-poh-suh, -zuh ]

/ ˌmær əˈpoʊ sə, -zə /

noun

any lily of the genus Calochortus, of the western U.S. and Mexico, having tuliplike flowers of various colors.

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Also called mar·i·po·sa, mariposa tulip.

Origin of mariposa lily

1880–85, Americanism; < Spanish mariposa butterfly, moth; so named because blooms were likened to butterflies

Words nearby mariposa lily

marion, marion, francis, marionette, mariotte's law, mariposa, mariposa lily, maris, marisat, marish, marisol, marist

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for mariposa

She would go back to Mariposa, sit on her bed, and read those letters.
The Return of the Soldier|Rebecca West
He first saw her—by one of the strangest coincidences in the world—on the Main Street of Mariposa.
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town|Stephen Leacock
I think Mr. Smith first got the idea of that on the night when the steam merry-go-round came to Mariposa.
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town|Stephen Leacock
Why, a man like that could ruin young Pupkin in Mariposa in half a day, and Pupkin knew it.
Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town|Stephen Leacock

"Mariposa" meant butterfly, she told the baby's mother, who gratefully accepted the compliment to her newly born daughter.
When Grandmamma Was New|Marion Harland

British Dictionary definitions for mariposa

mariposa

/ (ˌmærɪˈpəʊzə, -sə) /

noun

any of several liliaceous plants of the genus Calochortus, of the southwestern US and Mexico, having brightly coloured tulip-like flowersAlso called: mariposa lily, mariposa tulip

Word Origin for mariposa

C19: from Spanish: butterfly; from the likeness of the blooms to butterflies

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