Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various plants of the genus Lilium, having variously colored, often trumpet-shaped flowers.
  • noun Any of various similar or related plants, such as the daylily or the water lily.
  • noun The flower of any of these plants.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The marsh-marigold.
  • noun Lilium candidum, the white or annunciation lily: originally from the Mediterranean region, but long in cultivation.
  • noun The daffodil.
  • noun The atamasco lily, Atamosco Atamasco.
  • noun In Australia, same as spear-lily.
  • noun Same as gunebo lily.
  • noun A plant of the genus Lilium, or its flower.
  • noun Any one of many plants resembling the lily.
  • noun The end of a compass which points to the north: so called from being frequently ornamented with a lily or fleur-de-lis.
  • Resembling a white lily, especially in purity; pure; unsullied.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (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.
  • noun (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.
  • noun 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.
  • noun (Auction Bridge) A royal spade; -- usually in pl. See Royal spade, below.
  • noun (Bot.) the blue-flowered Agapanthus umbellatus.
  • noun (Bot.) a plant of the genus Zephyranthes (Zephyranthes Atamasco), having a white and pink funnelform perianth, with six petal-like divisions resembling those of a lily.
  • noun (Bot.) the Pardanthus Chinensis, the black seeds of which form a dense mass like a blackberry.
  • noun (Bot.) Lilium candidum. See Illust.
  • noun (Bot.) Same as Mariposa lily, in the Vocabulary.
  • noun (Zool.) a European beetle (Crioceris merdigera) which feeds upon the white lily.
  • noun (Bot.) a plant of the genus Narcissus, and its flower.
  • noun (Paleon.) a fossil encrinite, esp. Encrinus liliiformis. See Encrinite.
  • noun (Bot.) a plant of the genus Hyacinthus.
  • noun a kind of harpoon with a detachable head of peculiar shape, used in capturing swordfish.
  • noun (Bot.) a low perennial herb (Convallaria majalis), having a raceme of nodding, fragrant, white flowers.
  • noun [U. S.] the large floating leaf of the water lily.
  • noun (Bot.) Lilium tigrinum, the sepals of which are blotched with black.
  • noun (Bot.) Lilium Martagon, a red lily with recurved sepals; also, the similar American lily, Lilium superbum.
  • noun (Bot.) the Nymphæa, a plant with floating roundish leaves, and large flowers having many petals, usually white, but sometimes pink, red, blue, or yellow. [See Illust. of Nymphæa.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Any of several flowers in the genus Lilium of the family Liliaceae, which includes a great many ornamental species.
  • noun Any of several species of herbaceous flower which may or may not resemble the genus Lilium in some way, and which are not closely related to it or each other.
  • noun The end of a compass needle that should point north, traditionally often ornamented with the figure of a lily or fleur-de-lis.
  • adjective slang, derogatory White (as a racial epithet).

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

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

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English lilie, from Old English, from Latin līlium.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Old English lilie, from Latin līlia, plural of līlium, from Ancient Greek λείριον (leírion), from Coptic (dial. Fayyumic) ϩⲗⲏⲣⲓ (hlēri), variant of ϩⲣⲏⲣⲉ (hrēre), from Demotic (ḥrry), from Egyptian

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Examples

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  • 'Lily The Pink' - The Scaffold.

    February 8, 2008

  • Also Pictures of Lily by the Who. Great tune...

    February 8, 2008