oncidium

[ on-sid-ee-uh m ]

/ ɒnˈsɪd i əm /

noun

any of numerous tropical American orchids of the genus Oncidium, having clusters of flowers showing great variety in size, form, and color.

Nearby words

once-over, once-over-lightly, oncer, onchocerca, onchocerciasis, oncidium, onco-, oncocyte, oncocytic hepatocellular tumor, oncocytoma, oncofetal

Origin of oncidium

< New Latin (1800), equivalent to Greek onk(o)- (combining form of ónkos barb of an arrow) + New Latin -idium -idium; so called from the crests on the labellum

Also called dancing lady orchid.

Examples from the Web for oncidium

Except in Oncidium, there is no longer a veliger stage in development.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 5|Various
He was looking for orchids, however, and who could have expected to find an Oncidium buried among herbage in the open ground?
The Woodlands Orchids|Frederick Boyle
This is important, as it explains all the astounding projections on the labellum of Oncidium, Phalaenopsis, etc.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II|Charles Darwin
In this Oncidium, then, we have evidently a record of many bygone processes.
Omphalos|Philip Henry Gosse

But on the table before me now stands a wreath of Oncidium crispum which I cannot pass by.
About Orchids|Frederick Boyle