orchis

American  

[awr-kis] / ˈɔr kɪs /

noun

1. any orchid.

2. any of various terrestrial orchids, especially of the genus Orchis, of temperate regions, having spikelike flowers.

3. fringed orchis.

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orchis British  

/ ˈɔːkɪs /

noun

1. any terrestrial orchid of the N temperate genus Orchis, having fleshy tubers and spikes of typically pink flowers

2. any of various temperate or tropical orchids of the genus Habenaria, such as the fringed orchis

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Etymology

Origin of orchis

1555–65; < Latin < Greek órchis testicle, plant with roots like testicles

Example Sentences

The same can be said of salep, a fine powder ground from dried orchis tubers used in the Middle East to thicken ice cream.

From Newsweek

I'll show you where the daisies dot With silver stars the lea, The orchis, and forget-me-not, The flower of memory!

From Enthusiasm and Other Poems by Moodie, Susanna

“Oh, that’s a twayblade,” I replied, “one of the orchis family.”

From The Story of Antony Grace by Fenn, George Manville

The same tradition clings to the purple orchis and the spotted persicaria.

From The Browning Cyclop?dia A Guide to the Study of the Works of Robert Browning by Berdoe, Edward

Here the lovely orchis tribe adorn the gloomy shades with their brilliant flowers.

From The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America by Kingston, William Henry Giles