SWORD LILY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does sword lily mean? 

• SWORD LILY (noun)
  The noun SWORD LILY has 2 senses:

1. any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivated

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

  Familiarity information: SWORD LILY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SWORD LILY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

glad; gladiola; gladiolus; sword lily

Hypernyms ("sword lily" is a kind of...):

iridaceous plant (any bulbous plant of the family Iridaceae)

Holonyms ("sword lily" is a member of...):

genus Gladiolus (gladiolas)

Sense 2

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 ("sword lily" is a kind of...):

iridaceous plant (any bulbous plant of the family Iridaceae)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sword lily"):

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 ("sword lily" is a member of...):

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