trillium
[tril-ee-uh m]
- any of several plants belonging to the genus Trillium, of the lily family, having a whorl of three leaves from the center of which rises a solitary, three-petalled flower.
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Origin of trillium
< New Latin (Linnaeus), apparently alteration of Swedish trilling triplet, alluding to the foliation
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for trillium
Historical Examples
Mr. John Burroughs says his sign is the wake-robin, or trillium.
The Spring of the YearDallas Lore Sharp
Many of these names are applied also to other species of Trillium.
Ginseng and Other Medicinal PlantsA. R. (Arthur Robert) Harding
"All of the same everlasting old pattern," grumbled a trillium.
A Round DozenSusan Coolidge
I plucked my first dandelion on a meadow slope on the 23d, and in the woods, protected by a high ledge, my first trillium.
A Year in the FieldsJohn Burroughs
Hepaticas nearly always grow on the same slope, but they come into blossom about two days later than the trillium.
Some Spring Days in IowaFrederick John Lazell
trillium
- any herbaceous plant of the genus Trillium, of Asia and North America, having a whorl of three leaves at the top of the stem with a single central white, pink, or purple three-petalled flower: family Trilliaceae
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Word Origin
C18: from New Latin, modification by Linnaeus of Swedish trilling triplet
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for trillium
n.
1768, from Modern Latin trillium (Linnaeus, 1753), from Latin tri- "three" (see three). So called for its leaves.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper