orchid

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   A plant with unusually shaped flowers in beautiful colours, popular as a houseplant.

   She kept a delicate white orchid on the windowsill.

2. 2
   noun

   A light purple or violet-red colour.

   The bridesmaids wore dresses in soft orchid.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Orchid entered English in the mid-19th century, after the earlier form orchis, recorded from the mid-16th century. Both forms were borrowed from Latin orchis, meaning “orchid,” which came from Greek orkhis. The Greek word could denote the plant but primarily meant “testicle,” referring to the paired, anatomically suggestive tubers of some orchid species. The final d in orchid arose through a misunderstanding of the Latin form.

From New Latin Orchideae, Orchidaceae, an irregular formation from Latin orchis, from Ancient Greek ὄρχις (órkhis, “orchid, testicle”) (ostensibly from the shape of the roots). Supplanted Middle English ballokwort (literally “testicle plant”).

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External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary