See Also: orchid(medicine)
orchid(dictionary)
orchid(encyclopedia)
orchid(dictionary)
orchid-(dictionary)
Black Orchid(tourism)
ORCHID Capital Limited(finance)
Amari Orchid Resort(tourism)
Hollywood Orchid Suites(tourism)
Phuket Orchid Resort(tourism)

orchid (iou)



orchid noun & adjective. M19.
[from mod. Latin Orchidaceae (or earlier Orchideae): see ORCHID-, -ID2.]
A. noun.
Any of numerous (freq. epiphytic) monocotyledonous plants of the family Orchidaceae, characterized by having one perianth segment (the labellum) differentiated from the rest and by commonly having only one anther, united with the style in a central body (the column), and often having brilliantly coloured or bizarrely shaped flowers. Also, a flowering stem of such a plant. M19.
bee orchid, butterfly orchid, early purple orchid, frog orchid, lizard orchid, military orchid, musk orchid, pyramidal orchid, spotted orchid, etc. POOR MAN's orchid.
A purplish colour. E20.
Comb.: orchid cactus = EPIPHYLLUM; orchid house a hothouse for growing tropical orchids.
b. adjective. Of a purplish colour. M20.