water lily

noun

any of various aquatic plants of the genus Nymphaea, species of which have large, disklike, floating leaves and showy flowers, especially N. odorata, of America, or N. alba, of Europe.Compare water lily family.

any related plant of the genus Nuphar.

a plant of the water lily family.

the flower of any such plant.

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Origin of water lily

First recorded in 1540–50

Words nearby water lily

water key, water leaf, water lemon, water lettuce, water level, water lily, water lily family, water lily tulip, water line, water locust, water loss

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for water lily

I should lie under a water-lily and listen to the bells, which must sound most delicately down below.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson|Robert Louis Stevenson
First after the queen came the water-lily, who wore a crown of gold on her head, and had sailed down from her home in her gondola.
The Yule Log.|Anonymous
But she could not, and there was a thick stalk like a water-lily stem that kept tickling her throat.
Grim: The Story of a Pike|Svend Fleuron
Perhaps the water-lily is right, and I shall never be anything else but a poor, miserable larva.
The Queen Bee and Other Nature Stories|Carl Ewald

"In the autumn, my seeds will be ripe and sown, Water-Lily dear," replied the spear-wort.
The Pond|Carl Ewald

British Dictionary definitions for water lily

water lily

noun

any of various aquatic plants of the genus Nymphaea and related genera, of temperate and tropical regions, having large leaves and showy flowers that float on the surface of the water: family Nymphaeaceae

any of various similar and related plants, such as the yellow water lily

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012