tulip

[too-lip, tyoo-]

noun

1. any of various plants belonging to the genus Tulipa, of the lily family, cultivated in many varieties, and having lance-shaped leaves and large, showy, usually erect, cup-shaped or bell-shaped flowers in a variety of colors.

2. a flower or bulb of such a plant.

tulip

/ ˈtjuːlɪp /

noun

1. any spring-blooming liliaceous plant of the temperate Eurasian genus Tulipa , having tapering bulbs, long broad pointed leaves, and single showy bell-shaped flowers

2. the flower or bulb of any of these plants

Other Word Forms

• tuliplike adjective
• tulip-like adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tulip¹

1570–80; earlier tulipa < New Latin, apparently back formation from Italian tulipano (taken as adj.) < Turkish tülbent turban (from a fancied likeness); turban

Word History and Origins

Origin of tulip¹

C17: from New Latin tulipa , from Turkish tülbend turban, which the opened bloom was thought to resemble

Example Sentences

The road is paired with a million yellow tulips planted by farmer Mark Eves.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The usually vain and anxious mother-to-be spent her afternoons waddling contentedly through the new tulip garden.

Read more on Literature

“These are nothing more than knobby, ugly, dirty turnips. I asked for beautiful and frightfully expensive tulips.”

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Garten arranges fresh orange tulips in drinking glasses and sets them along the middle of her table.

Read more on Salon

To others, however, OpenAI is something akin to tulip mania, the harbinger of the Great Depression, or the next dot-com bubble.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal