orchid
[awr-kid]
- any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, of temperate and tropical regions, having usually showy flowers.Compare orchid family.
- the flower of any of these plants.
- a bluish to reddish purple.
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Origin of orchid
orchid-
- variant of orchido- before a vowel: orchidology.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for orchid
Contemporary Examples
"I found it completely riveting," said Susan Orlean, author of The Orchid Thief.
On my kitchen windowsill (yes, I have a windowed kitchen, my first ever), are four orchid plants.
Historical Examples
Daintily swinging, like clustered pearls, were the petals of the orchid.
The Trail of '98Robert W. Service
Who shall claim to know his orchid who knows not its insect sponsor?
My Studio NeighborsWilliam Hamilton Gibson
How are we to know that this blossom which we plucked is an orchid?
My Studio NeighborsWilliam Hamilton Gibson
Angræcum, orchid of Madagascar, with nectary eleven inches long, 219.
My Studio NeighborsWilliam Hamilton Gibson
He would also carry out his dream by making the orchid a gift to Lady Coke.
Chatterbox, 1906Various
orchid
- any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, often having flowers of unusual shapes and beautiful colours, specialized for pollination by certain insectsSee bee orchid, burnt-tip orchid, fly orchid, frog orchid, lady orchid, lizard orchid, man orchid, monkey orchid, purple-fringed orchid, pyramidal orchid, scented orchid, spider orchid, spotted orchid
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Word Origin
C19: from New Latin Orchideae; see orchis
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
Word Origin and History for orchid
n.
1845, introduced by John Lindley in "School Botanty," from Modern Latin Orchideæ (Linnaeus), the plant's family name, from Latin orchis, a kind of orchid, from Greek orkhis (genitive orkheos) "orchid," literally "testicle," from PIE *orghi-, the standard root for "testicle" (cf. Avestan erezi "testicles," Armenian orjik, Middle Irish uirgge, Irish uirge "testicle," Lithuanian erzilas "stallion"). The plant so called because of the shape of its root. Earlier in English in Latin form, orchis (1560s), and in Middle English it was ballockwort (c.1300; see ballocks). Marred by extraneous -d- in an attempt to extract the Latin stem.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper