painted cup

American  

noun

1. any of several semiparasitic plants of the genus Castilleja, of the figwort family, having highly colored dilated bracts about the flowers.

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Etymology

Origin of painted cup

First recorded in 1780–90

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

painted cup

For who e'er drank without alloy, From the painted cup of joy?

From Withered Leaves from Memory's Garland by Abigail Stanley Hanna

The bright flame of the painted cup and the purple of the asters still lighted up the aisles of the pines in sheltered places.

From The Spirit of Sweetwater by Hamlin Garland

In the painted cup the bracts, which enfold the insignificant yellowish cloistered flowers like a cape, render them great service in attracting the ruby-throated hummingbird by donning his favorite color.

From Wild Flowers An Aid to Knowledge of Our Wild Flowers and Their Insect Visitors by Neltje Blanchan

Then she searched among the flowers of the prairie, until she found the blossom of a painted cup.

From Story Hour Readers — Book Three by Ida Coe

"This," he says, "is the prayer-book I was in the habit of using; here is the painted cup in which I used to drink tea," and so on through the whole list.

From The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 3, March, 1852 by Various

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