Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of numerous epiphytic tropical American orchids of the genus Oncidium, having clusters of showy flowers.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A genus of orchids of the tribe Vandeæ, type of subtribe Oncidieæ, and known by the free, spreading sepals, and spurless lip free from the short two-auricled column. There are over 250 species, natives of America from Brazil and Bolivia to the West Indies and Mexico. They are epiphytes, usually with pseudo-bulbs, very few leaves, and loose racemes of showy yellowish flowers. This is an extremely rich and varied genus. One of the best-known species is O. Papilio, the butterfly-plant, with flowers of butterfly form borne singly at the end of long stalks. O. altissimum is said to produce a raceme 13 feet long, with as many as 2,000 flowers. O. Sprucei has the name of armadillo's-tail, on account of its long round leaves, characteristic of one section of the genus. O. Carthaginense is named spread-eagle orchid.
Wiktionary
- n. botany Any of the genus Oncidium of tropical orchidaceous plants.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) A genus of tropical orchidaceous plants, the flower of one species of which (Oncidium Papilio) resembles a butterfly.
WordNet 3.0
- n. any orchid of the genus Oncidium: characterized by slender branching sprays of small yellow and brown flowers; often grown as houseplants
Etymologies
- From the genus name. (Wiktionary)
- New Latin Oncidium, genus name : Greek onkos, barb, hook (from the shape of its labellum) + New Latin -idium, diminutive suff. (from Greek -idion). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The day the first family moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Ms. Clarke filled the residence with tall, clear cylinders of forsythia, oncidium orchids and cream-colored cymbidium orchids -- some of the first lady's favorites.”
“Your orchid oncidium looks stunning, the flowers are gorgeous.”
“They're both oncidium type orchids, grow long spikes with lots of flowers.”
“This is a pretty standard run-of-the mill oncidium orchid.”
“This is an enormous oncidium at a local orchid greenhouse in Virgnia - Al's Orchid Exchange.”
“Among the most beautiful is the oncidium, of a yellow hue, often seen -- apparently suspended in air between the stems of two trees -- shining in the gloom, as if its petals were of gold.”
The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America
“If you have orchids in small pots (I have one miniature variety of oncidium) then you might need to water once or twice a day but if you have a medium sized plant, particularly one with a psuedobulb at the base of the leaves where it can store up water, then once a week is usually sufficient.”
“This oncidium Sharry Baby’ is a workhorse plant with several blooms through the year.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘oncidium’.
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around bend words
IE roots ank-, ant- and others
angle, ankle, ankylosaur, england, anchor, ancon, elbow, ankylosis, ancylostomiasis, hook, uncinate, uncus and 66 more...
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hoppestere
dancing on waves - a mysterious term of Chaucer that I can't bury or even embalm.
mudra, orchesis, poussette, gestic, reel, coupee, riffle, hula, allemande, pavan, pantomime, geisha and 21 more...
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herrherr's list
vicenarian, kretek, portmanteau, neologism, medomalacuphobia, outre, ootheca, cantankerous, cockamamie, poppycock, pshaw, uroboros and 40 more...
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orchid addjectives and dayscriptors
a compilation of descriptive names for orchids. few forms of life have so many guises
puttyroot, helmetflower, cattleya, twayblade, vanda, ram's-head, tangle orchid, fairy-slipper, moccasin flower, greenhood, cullion, lady's tresses and 43 more...
Tweets
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