mariposa

/ (ˌmærɪˈpəʊzə, -sə) /

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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

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Word Origin for mariposa

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

Words nearby mariposa

Mariology, Marion, marionette, Marion, Francis, Mariotte's law, mariposa, mariposa lily, Maris, Marisat, marish, Marisol

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

How to use mariposa in a sentence

These fine old trees grow in groves, and of the nine or ten groves the Calaveras and Mariposa are the best known.
Stories of California|Ella M. Sexton
If only they would go to their study and quarrel about the Mariposa lily, or cactuses, or salix, or something.
Katharine Frensham|Beatrice Harraden
Just out of Tehama we struck into a country whose features reminded us of the wooded tracts between Stockton and Mariposa.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 81, July, 1864|Various
Here for several days Alfonso tarried, grew stronger, and often walked with pretty Mariposa.
The Harris-Ingram Experiment|Charles E. Bolton

"My father gave it to me," was all that Mariposa would say about the ring as they separated for the night.
The Harris-Ingram Experiment|Charles E. Bolton