stephanotis

American  

[stef-uh-noh-tis] / ˌstɛf əˈnoʊ tɪs /

noun

1. any vine belonging to the genus Stephanotis, of the milkweed family, having fragrant, waxy, white flowers and leathery leaves.

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stephanotis British  

/ ˌstɛfəˈnəʊtɪs /

noun

1. any climbing asclepiadaceous shrub of the genus Stephanotis, esp S. floribunda, of Madagascar and Malaya: cultivated for their fragrant white waxy flowers

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Etymology

Origin of stephanotis

1865–70; < New Latin < Greek stephanōtís (feminine adj.) fit for a crown, derivative of stéphanos (masculine) crown

Example Sentences

Soon, classic floral scents — rose, lily of the valley, violet, stephanotis — were sold alongside grooming products, bespoke fragrances concocted for wealthy clients in the shop’s cellar.

From New York Times • May 9, 2018

Third, she painted a bridegroom, dashing in a dark suit with white stephanotis for his boutonnière.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 26, 2010

Charlotte Ford, 24, curtsied and gave Meg a bouquet of roses and stephanotis.

From Time Magazine Archive

The sensuous odor of stephanotis, that had not repelled in the old life, had come to suggest a pestilence in his nostrils, made clean by the purity of lilac.

From Thoroughbreds by Fraser, William Alexander

He suggests that the wreaths are of stephanotis, that large-leaved myrtle, which was sacred to the Chthonian goddesses after the liberation of Semele from Hades by her son Dionysus.

From Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Third series by Symonds, John Addington