orchid

orchid
\ \ [19] Greek órkhis meant ‘testicle’ (a sense preserved in English orchitis ‘inflammation of the testicles’ [18]). The tuberous roots of the orchid supposedly resemble testicles (hence the old dialect name ballock’s-grass for various sorts of wild orchid), and so the plant was named órkhis. The Latin form orchis was taken by botanists of the 16th and 17th centuries as the basis for the plant’s scientific name (they smuggled an inauthentic d into it, under the mistaken impression that its stem form was orchid-), and it passed from there into English.

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Orchid — Orchid, FL U.S. town in Florida Population (2000): 140 Housing Units (2000): 139 Land area (2000): 1.229962 sq. miles (3.185586 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.613700 sq. miles (1.589475 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.843662 sq. miles (4.775061 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Orchid, FL — U.S. town in Florida Population (2000): 140 Housing Units (2000): 139 Land area (2000): 1.229962 sq. miles (3.185586 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.613700 sq. miles (1.589475 sq. km) Total area (2000): 1.843662 sq. miles (4.775061 sq. km) FIPS code …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • orchid — (n.) 1845, introduced by John Lindley in School Botanty, from Mod.L. Orchideæ (Linnaeus), the plant s family name, from L. orchis, a kind of orchid, from Gk. orkhis (gen. orkheos) orchid, lit. testicle, from PIE *orghi , the standard root for… …   Etymology dictionary

  • orchid — [ôr′kid] n. [< ModL Orchideae: so named (1751) by LINNAEUS Carolus < * orchid , mistaken as stem of L orchis: see ORCHIS] 1. a perennial plant of the orchid family, that grows in the ground or as an epiphyte and is characterized by waxy… …   English World dictionary

  • Orchid — (Хюэ,Вьетнам) Категория отеля: 2 звездочный отель Адрес: 30A Chu Van An, Хюэ, Вьетнам Описание: You will …   Каталог отелей

  • Orchid — Or chid, n. [See {Orchis}.] (Bot.) Any plant of the order {Orchidace[ae]}. See {Orchidaceous}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • orchid — ► NOUN ▪ a plant of a large family with complex showy flowers. DERIVATIVES orchidaceous adjective. ORIGIN Greek orkhis testicle (because of the shape of the tuber) …   English terms dictionary

  • orchid — /awr kid/, n. 1. any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, of temperate and tropical regions, having usually showy flowers. Cf. orchid family. 2. the flower of any of these plants. 3. a bluish to reddish purple. [1835 45; < NL …   Universalium

  • orchid- — I. ⇒ORCHID(O) 1, ORCHI(O) , ORCHO , (ORCHID , ORCHIDO , ORCHI , ORCHIO ), élém. formants Élém. tiré du gr. , «testicule», entrant dans la constr. d adj. ou de subst. du vocab. méd., gén. en association avec un élém. d orig. gr. ou lat. A. [Les… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Orchid — El término Orchid puede referirse a: Orchidaceae: Las Orquídeas pertenecientes a la familia botánica de las Orchidaceae. Orchid, palabra inglesa que significa orquídea. Orchid (álbum): El álbum debut de la banda sueca de progressive death metal… …   Wikipedia Español

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