What does orchid mean in Latin?
What does orchid mean in Latin?
The Latin word for orchid was orchis, which comes from the Greek orkhis, meaning “testicle”. The Greeks weren’t the only ones to have dirty thoughts about monocots. In Middle English, orchids were called “ballockwort”.
What does butterfly orchid mean?
Definition of butterfly orchid 1 : either of two European terrestrial orchids of the genus Platanthera (P. bifolia and P. chlorantha) 2 : a Mexican epiphytic orchid (Epidendrum venosum) often cultivated. 3 : butterfly plant.
What do orchids mean in Japanese culture?
Popular too in ancient Japan, the orchid was considered a symbol of wealth by royalty, who kept the flowers in their temples, and commissioned them in their painted scrolls.
Why is orchid testicle?
The genus name comes from the Ancient Greek ὄρχις (órkhis), literally meaning “testicle”, because of the shape of the twin tubers in some species of Orchis. The term “orchid” was introduced in 1845 by John Lindley in School Botany, as a shortened form of Orchidaceae.
What do white orchids symbolize Japan?
What is the meaning of Phalaenopsis?
The name Phalaenopsis is derived from the Ancient Greek word φαλαινα (phalaina) meaning ‘a kind of moth’ with the suffix -opsis meaning ‘having the appearance of’ or ‘like’. The genus name is abbreviated Phal.
What is a hothouse orchid?
A heated greenhouse for plants that require an even, relatively warm temperature. An environment conducive to vigorous growth or development; a hotbed: “With its mix of African, Latin, European, and pan-American influences, the Caribbean is truly a musical hothouse” (New Yorker). Grown in a hothouse: a hothouse orchid.
What does a hothouse flower mean?
A hothouse flower is flower that isn’t hardy enough to grow under natural conditions. It has to be pampered and grown in a greenhouse or hothouse. In regard to people it’s used to describe someone who needs pampering or special conditions.
What is the etymology of the word Orchid?
1845, introduced by John Lindley in “School Botanty,” from Modern Latin Orchideæ (Linnaeus), the plant’s family name, from Latin orchis, a kind of orchid, from Greek orkhis (genitive orkheos) “orchid,” literally “testicle,” from PIE *h(o)rghi-, the standard IE word for “testicle” (source also of Avestan erezi,…
What does it mean to grow in a hothouse?
Grown in a hothouse: a hothouse orchid. Delicate and sensitive, as if from being grown in a hothouse. To cultivate in a hothouse. American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
