dahlia English · revision 1910

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈdeɪ.li.ə/, /ˈdɑː.li.ə/ ''(UK)''; /ˈdæl.jə/, /ˈdɑl.jə/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la-new|Dahlia]], the genus name,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) given in 1791 in honour of Anders Dahl, a Swedish botanist and pupil of Linnaeus.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Etymonline says the name was given by the Spanish botanist Antonio José Cavanilles.^(Etymonline) The sources differ on Dahl's death, which the AHD dates to 1787 and the others to 1789.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A genus of plants native to Mexico, cultivated in gardens (1804).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The idea that a true blue dahlia could never be bred led to ''blue dahlia'' as a figure for something impossible or unattainable,^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) dated 1843 in Etymonline and 1880 in the OED.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The word was also used for a shade of red (1846)^(OED 1989) and, in Random House, for a pale violet color.^(RHWU) Merriam-Webster dates the plant sense only from 1835.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1791 – the New Latin genus name.^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(RHWU)

+ * 1804 – the plant in English.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1843 – ''blue dahlia'', something unattainable (Etymonline).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1846 – a shade of red.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Any of a genus of plants native to Mexico and Central America, with [[tuber|alt=tuberous]] roots and showy flower heads in many colors.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The flower head of such a plant.^(AHD)^(RHWU)

+ # A pale violet or [[amethyst]] color.^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chrysanthemum]]

+ * [[aster]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}