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lily |
6 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lily \Lil"y\ (l[i^]l"[y^]), n.; pl {Lilies} (-[i^]z). [AS. lilie, L. lilium, Gr lei`rion. Cf {Flower-de-luce}.] 1. (Bot.) A plant and flower of the genus {Lilium}, endogenous bulbous plants, having a regular perianth of six colored pieces, six stamens, and a superior three-celled ovary. Note: There are nearly fifty species, all found in the North Temperate zone. {Lilium candidum} and {L. longiflorum} are the common white lilies of gardens; {L. Philadelphicum} is the wild red lily of the Atlantic States; {L. Chalcedonicum} is supposed to be the ``lily of the field'' in our Lord's parable; {L. auratum} is the great gold-banded lily of Japan. 2. (Bot.) A name given to handsome flowering plants of several genera, having some resemblance in color or form to a true lily, as {Pancratium}, {Crinum}, {Amaryllis}, {Nerine}, etc 3. That end of a compass needle which should point to the north; -- so called as often ornamented with the figure of a lily or fleur-de-lis. But sailing further, it veers its lily to the west. --Sir T. Browne. {African lily} (Bot.), the blue-flowered {Agapanthus umbellatus}. {Atamasco lily} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Zephyranthes} ({Z. Atamasco}), having a white and pink funnelform perianth, with six petal-like divisions resembling those of a lily. --Gray. {Blackberry lily} (Bot.), the {Pardanthus Chinensis}, the black seeds of which form a dense mass like a blackberry. {Bourbon lily} (Bot.), {Lilium candidum}. See Illust. {Butterfly lily}. (Bot.) Same as {Mariposa lily}, in the Vocabulary. {Lily beetle} (Zool.), a European beetle ({Crioceris merdigera}) which feeds upon the white lily. {Lily daffodil} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Narcissus}, and its flower. {Lily encrinite} (Paleon.), a fossil encrinite, esp. {Encrinus liliiformis}. See {Encrinite}. {Lily hyacinth} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Hyacinthus}. {Lily iron}, a kind of harpoon with a detachable head of peculiar shape, used in capturing swordfish. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Lily \Lil"y\, n. (Auction Bridge) A royal spade; -- usually in pl See {Royal spade}, below. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: lily n : any liliaceous plant of the genus Lilium having showy pendulous flowers From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]: Lily, KY Zip code(s): 40740 Lily, SD (town, FIPS 37140) Location: 45.18138 N, 97.68118 W Population (1990): 26 (19 housing units) Area: 1.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water) Zip code(s): 57274 Lily, WI Zip code(s): 54445 From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (13 Mar 01) [foldoc]: Lily (LIsp LibrarY) A {C++} {class} library by Roger Sheldonwhich gives C++ programmers the capability to write {Lisp}-style code. Lily's {garbage collection} mechanism is not sufficient for commercial use however and the documentation is incomplete. It is distributed under the {GNU} Library {General Public License}. Version: 0.1. {(ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/uploads/lily-0.1.tar.gz)} (1993-11-08) From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Lily The Hebrew name shushan or shoshan, i.e., "whiteness", was used as the general name of several plants common to Syria, such as the tulip, iris, anemone, gladiolus, ranunculus, etc Some interpret it with much probability, as denoting in the Old Testament the water-lily (Nymphoea lotus of Linn.), or lotus (Cant. 2:1, 2; 2:16; 4:5; 5:13; 6:2, 3; 7:2). "Its flowers are large and they are of a white colour, with streaks of pink. They supplied models for the ornaments of the pillars and the molten sea" (1 Kings 7:19, 22, 26; 2 Chr. 4:5). In the Canticles its beauty and fragrance shadow forth the preciousness of Christ to the Church. Groser, however (Scrip. Nat. Hist.), strongly argues that the word both in the Old and New Testaments, denotes liliaceous plants in general, or if one genus is to be selected, that it must be the genus Iris, which is "large, vigorous, elegant in form and gorgeous in colouring." The lilies (Gr. krinia) spoken of in the New Testament (Matt. 6:28; Luke 12:27) were probably the scarlet martagon (Lilium Chalcedonicum) or "red Turk's-cap lily", which "comes into flower at the season of the year when our Lord's sermon on the mount is supposed to have been delivered. It is abundant in the district of Galilee; and its fine scarlet flowers render it a very conspicous and showy object, which would naturally attract the attention of the hearers" (Balfour's Plants of the Bible). Of the true "floral glories of Palestine" the pheasant's eye (Adonis Palestina), the ranunuculus (R. Asiaticus), and the anemone (A coronaria), the last named is however, with the greatest probability regarded as the "lily of the field" to which our Lord refers. "Certainly," says Tristram (Nat. Hist. of the Bible), "if, in the wondrous richness of bloom which characterizes the land of Israel in spring, any one plant can claim pre-eminence, it is the anemone, the most natural flower for our Lord to pluck and seize upon as an illustration, whether walking in the fields or sitting on the hill-side." "The white water-lily (Nymphcea alba) and the yellow water-lily (Nuphar lutea) are both abundant in the marshes of the Upper Jordan, but have no connection with the lily of Scripture."
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