orchid
1 Americannoun
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any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, of temperate and tropical regions, having usually showy flowers.
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the flower of any of these plants.
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a bluish to reddish purple.
noun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Usage
What does orchid- mean? Orchid- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning either “testicle” (testis) or "orchid." In medicine, it refers to testicles. In botany, it refers to orchid flowers.Orchid- comes from the Greek órchis, meaning “testicle.” How did the Greek word for testicle give rise to the name of a type of beautiful flower? Well, the roots of orchids were thought to resemble testicles. Learn more at our entry for orchis.Orchid- is a variant of orchido-, which loses its -o- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels.Want to know more? Read our Words That Use orchido- article.The combining forms orchi-, as in orchiectomy, and orchio-, as in orchioplasty, are other variants of this combining form used to refer to testicles in medical terms.
Etymology
Origin of orchid
1835–45; < New Latin Orchideae (later Orchidaceae ) family name, equivalent to Latin orch ( is ) a plant ( orchis ) + -ideae, irregular suffix ( -idae ); -id 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Admission is free, and orchids grown by the society’s members will be on display.
From Los Angeles Times
Take for example Ophrys sphegodes, the early spider orchid, which has flowers resembling a spider's abdomen, but also reproduces the sex pheromones of certain mining bees.
From Salon
I shredded the American Heritage Dictionary, vowing to conquer English the way my mother commanded Vietnamese, orchid petals floating from her mouth.
From Washington Post
The sanctions have not yet been announced, but they could make it difficult for Mexico to export some regulated animal and plant products like crocodile or snake skins, orchids and cactuses.
From Seattle Times
"As the roses and orchids piled up at her apartment she became increasingly concerned about what she should do. It had begun to feel as if Trump was stalking her."
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
