Etymologically
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lily

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈlɪl.i/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English lilie, inherited from Old English lilie,[2][3][4] borrowed from Latin līlium (“lily”), or its plural līlia,[2][3][4][5] from the same non-Indo-European source as Ancient Greek λείριον (leírion, “lily”).[2][5][4] Etymonline suggests both came from an eastern Mediterranean word, and de Vaan compares a Coptic word for lily,[3] which Barnhart traces to Egyptian.[2] The Latin word became the general word across Europe, as in Dutch lelie, Swedish lilja, French lis, Spanish lirio and Italian giglio.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Any plant or flower of the genus Lilium: 971 in Old English;[2][6] as Middle English lilie about 1150.[2]

Semantic evolution

The lily was used in the Old Testament to translate a Hebrew word, and in the New Testament to translate Ancient Greek κρίνον (krínon).[3] It became a figure of whiteness, fairness and purity,[3] and the adjective, pure or lovely like a white lily, is from before 1533.[2] Related plants, such as the belladonna lily, were called lilies from 1555.[6] Lily of the valley (1538) translates Latin līlium convallium of the Vulgate, a literal rendering of the Hebrew in the Song of Solomon; 16th-century German herbalists seem to have first applied it to the plant now so called.[6][3] Lily pad is American English, from 1834.[3]

Timeline

  • 971 – lily (Old English).[2][6]
  • c. 1150 – lilie.[2]
  • before 1533 – lily-white, pure.[2]
  • 1538 – lily of the valley.[6]
  • 1555 – allied plants.[6]
  • 1834 – lily pad.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. Any of various plants of the genus Lilium, growing from scaly bulbs and having showy, often trumpet-shaped flowers.
  2. Any of various similar or related plants, such as the water lily or the day lily.
  3. The flower or bulb of any of these plants.

Word family

  • lilylike
  • lilac
  • fleur-de-lis
  • lily of the valley

Usage notes

In dialects of Scotland and England, lily-bind was the field bindweed.[7]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)