lily Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers

WordNet

Lil"y noun
Etymology
AS. lilie, L. lilium, Gr. . Cf. Flower-de-luce.
Wordforms
plural Lilies
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A plant and flower of the genus Lilium, endogenous bulbous plants, having a regular perianth of six colored pieces, six stamens, and a superior three-celled ovary. ✍ There are nearly fifty species, all found in the North Temperate zone. Lilium candidum and L. longiflorum are the common white lilies of gardens; L. Philadelphicum is the wild red lily of the Atlantic States. L. Chalcedonicum is supposed to be the "lily of the field" in our Lord's parable; L. auratum is the great gold-banded lily of Japan.
  2. (Bot.) A name given to handsome flowering plants of several genera, having some resemblance in color or form to a true lily, as Pancratium, Crinum, Amaryllis, Nerine, etc.
  3. That end of a compass needle which should point to the north; -- so called as often ornamented with the figure of a lily or fleur-de-lis.
    But sailing further, it veers its lily to the west. Sir T. Browne.

Webster 1913