Amaryllis

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌæməˈɹɪlɪs/

Definitions

1. A type of bulbous plant recognized for its striking, large flowers and often cultivated for ornamental purposes in gardens and indoors
2. This genus of flowering plants is noted for its dramatic blossoms and is frequently utilized in horticulture for decorative displays
3. A bulbous plant known for producing large, showy flowers often cultivated indoors or in gardens

Etymology: The name comes from Latin "Amaryllis," which was a stock name for a shepherdess in pastoral poetry. The best-known appearance is in Virgil's "Eclogues," where the shepherd Corydon pines for a boy named Alexis, and Amaryllis is the rival he ends up addressing instead of the boy. The name was already a conventional literary label for a rustic girl long before anyone used it for a plant. The plant genus took the name in modern botanical nomenclature, so the flower is named after a fictional country girl rather than after any natural feature or Greek root. The name itself is Greek in form, and the Latin borrowing carried it into the scientific Latin used to classify plants. The flower's dramatic trumpet-shaped blooms were presumably the reason it was given a name that suggested a lively, showy figure.

Synonyms: flower, bulb, plant, blossom, ornamental plant