lily

lily — noun

1. a plant that grows from a bulb and produces large flowers shaped like bells or t

1.nounA2
Definition

a plant that grows from a bulb and produces large flowers shaped like bells or trumpets on a tall green stem. The flowers can be white, yellow, pink, orange, or red.

Example

Dario planted white lilies along the fence in his garden last spring.

collocation: plant + lilies

The sweet smell of lilies filled the room after Tamar brought them inside.

Common collocations
  • white lily
  • pink lily
  • lily garden
  • lily stem
  • lily bulb
  • lily petal
  • lily pad (water lily only)
Synonyms
  • lily bulb

    refers to the underground storage organ rather than the flower

  • bloom

    more general term for any flower, not specific to lilies

Usage Note

Lily bulbs are planted in autumn or spring. The plant is a perennial, so it comes back year after year.

Common Mistakes

There are beautiful lilies growing on the pond.
There are beautiful water lilies growing on the pond.
'lily' usually refers to land plants from the genus Lilium; floating pond plants are called 'water lilies.'
Idioms

gild the lily

idiom

To spoil something by trying to improve it when it is already good or beautiful.

Mina added extra decorations to her painting, but she just gilded the lily.

Why did you put more flowers on the cake? That's gilding the lily.

lily — adjective

Word family

  • lilies
    noun pluralA2
  • lily-white
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Lily, orchid, rose, tulip, and daffodil are all popular garden flowers, but they differ in appearance and growing habits. A lily grows from a bulb and produces large, trumpet-shaped flowers on tall stems, often with a strong fragrance. An orchid has complex, layered petals and is often grown indoors as a houseplant. A rose has round, layered petals on a thorny bush and is strongly associated with love and romance. A tulip looks like a cup on a short stem and blooms in early spring. A daffodil has a central trumpet surrounded by six flat petals and is one of the first flowers to appear after winter. For example: 'Dario planted white lilies along the garden fence' emphasizes tall, elegant flowers, whereas 'Saira received a bouquet of roses' suggests a romantic gift.

lily ↗orchid ↗rosetulipdaffodil

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • white lily
  • lily pond
  • lily pad
  • lily of the valley

Prepositions

  • of (lily of the valley)

Etymology

GreekLatinOld EnglishEnglish

The word 'lily' entered English from Old English 'lilie,' which came from Latin 'lilium,' itself borrowed from Greek 'leirion.' The flower has been a symbol of purity, innocence, and beauty across many cultures for thousands of years. In Christian art, the white lily represents the Virgin Mary, and in Chinese culture, the lily (百合花, bǎihéhuā) sounds like the phrase for 'a hundred unions' and is associated with harmony in marriage.