any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, of temperate and tropical regions, having usually showy flowers.
the flower of any of these plants.
a bluish to reddish purple.
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.
1835–45; < New Latin Orchideae (later Orchidaceae ) family name, equivalent to Latin orch ( is ) a plant ( see orchis) + -ideae, irregular suffix ( cf. -idae); see -id 2
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“This is so tragic,” one person commented on the gallery’s post, noting that Summers had recently bid on an orchid print they were preparing for her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
While the rewards can be significant - the global orchid market is worth hundreds of millions of dollars - the competition to produce the next gorgeous flower is intense.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
Some may be tiny, like the orchid babies nursing on wood-eating fungi; others may be gargantuan, like the Posidonia australis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Koja is concerned about the loss of unique indigenous trees like the giant orchid, already a problem before mining has even started.
From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2025
Smack in the middle of an orchid there might be a blob of jello and inside a Alickey Mouse doll, a fixed and radiant star.
From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison
Sometimes an incense is used worth even more than $30.00 per envelope: this contains ranjatai, an aromatic of which the perfume is compared to that of "musk mingled with orchid- flowers."
From In Ghostly Japan by Hearn, Lafcadio
The cultivation of orchids is a resource heavy business.
From BBC ● May 14, 2026
My late father-in-law loved orchids, and in his decadeslong passion he built and maintained two large greenhouses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Darwin's work on orchids suggested that highly specialized flower structures played a major role in the formation of new species.
From Science Daily ● May 13, 2026
Roman Ivannikov has spent around 30 years pampering orchids, azaleas and figs at Ukraine's National Botanical Garden, but power cuts triggered by Russian strikes are threatening to freeze his cherished collection of tropical plants.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
She thought of the orchids spreading across the plains below, choking the life out of other plants, out of the soil itself, selfish and unstoppable.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
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.
