FLEUR-DE-LIS (fleurs-de-lis)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: fleurs-de-lis   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does fleur-de-lis mean? 

• FLEUR-DE-LIS (noun)
  The noun FLEUR-DE-LIS has 2 senses:

1. plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals

2. (heraldry) charge consisting of a conventionalized representation of an iris

  Familiarity information: FLEUR-DE-LIS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• FLEUR-DE-LIS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Plants with sword-shaped leaves and erect stalks bearing bright-colored flowers composed of three petals and three drooping sepals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

flag; fleur-de-lis; iris; sword lily

Hypernyms ("fleur-de-lis" is a kind of...):

iridaceous plant (any bulbous plant of the family Iridaceae)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fleur-de-lis"):

bearded iris (any of numerous wild or cultivated irises with hairlike structures on the falls (the drooping sepals))

beardless iris (any of numerous wild or cultivated irises having no hairs on the drooping sepals (the falls))

bulbous iris (any of various irises having a rootstock formed like a bulb)

dwarf iris; Iris cristata (low-growing summer-flowering iris of northeastern United States)

gladdon; gladdon iris; Iris foetidissima; roast beef plant; stinking gladwyn; stinking iris (iris with purple flowers and foul-smelling leaves; southern and western Europe and North Africa)

Iris persica; Persian iris (bulbous iris native to Asia Minor cultivated for its pale lilac-colored flowers)

Iris pseudacorus; yellow flag; yellow iris; yellow water flag (common yellow-flowered iris of Europe and North Africa, naturalized in United States and often cultivated)

dwarf iris; Iris verna; vernal iris (low-growing spring-flowering American iris with bright blue-lilac flowers)

blue flag; Iris versicolor (a common iris of the eastern United States having blue or blue-violet flowers; root formerly used medicinally)

Iris virginica; southern blue flag (similar to blue flag; the eastern United States)

English iris; Iris xiphioides (bulbous iris native to the Pyrenees; widely cultivated for its large delicate flowers in various colors except yellow)

Holonyms ("fleur-de-lis" is a member of...):

genus Iris (large genus of perennials that develop from bulbs or rhizomes)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(heraldry) charge consisting of a conventionalized representation of an iris

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

fleur-de-lis; fleur-de-lys

Hypernyms ("fleur-de-lis" is a kind of...):

armorial bearing; bearing; charge; heraldic bearing (heraldry consisting of a design or image depicted on a shield)

Domain category:

heraldry (the study and classification of armorial bearings and the tracing of genealogies)

 Context examples 

A high dais at the further end was roofed in by a broad canopy of scarlet velvet spangled with silver fleurs-de-lis, and supported at either corner by silver rods.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In common garb, his masterful face and flashing eye would have marked him as one who was born to rule; but now, with his silken tunic powdered with golden fleurs-de-lis, his velvet mantle lined with the royal minever, and the lions of England stamped in silver upon his harness, none could fail to recognize the noble Edward, most warlike and powerful of all the long line of fighting monarchs who had ruled the Anglo-Norman race.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)