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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According to the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, this is the first time the Fen Orchid has successfully been cultivated in Great Britain.
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2025
Orchid founder Noor Siddiqui, 31, counts Armstrong, Ethereum co-creator Vitalik Buterin and 23andMe co-founder and CEO Anne Wojcicki as investors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 9, 2025
The Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland's vascular plant red list has revealed that the Fen Orchid Liparis loeselii is officially no longer considered under threat in Britain.
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2025
Orchid seeds are as small as dust and do not provide any nutrients for the young plant to grow.
From Science Daily • Oct. 8, 2025
I wanted to tell her she was confused and wasn’t making sense, because of course our plant was a Cobalt Blue Orchid.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
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.
