lily of the valley
2
5.3
- noun
- /ˈlɪli əv ðə ˈvæli/
:
muguete
- The lily of the valley that Roselily is holding as part of her bouquet also has religious connotations: "It is a symbol of humility in religious painting."
- sprig of lily of the valley
- bouquet of lily of the valley
Examples
-
Danny and Doug, lilies of the valley in their lapels, stand on either side of an archway made of two blossoming cherry trees in pots, bent toward each other so that their branches intertwine.
Fiction book (1994) -
The scent of lily of the valley hung in the air.
Fiction book (2002) -
Lily of the valley is considered a sign of Christ's second coming.
Academic text (2017) -
Ignatius's head pounded with these questions until the day Clara placed a bouquet of lilies of the valley on the table along with a meal that she had made herself.
Fiction book (2000) -
No other spring, not the lilacs blooming with Magda's red tulips nor the lilies of the valley along the stone wall, announced that winter would be feared no more.
Fiction book (2000) -
She scrubbed Mr. Toomey's kitchen table and set the jar in the center, on a pretty cloth embroidered with lilies of the valley and daisies, which she found in a drawer below the cupboard.
Fiction book (2002) -
Developed by David and Kavi Moltz of D.S. and Durga, Rodin perfume adds a sprig or two of lily of the valley to the original bouquet.
Blog text (1) -
The scent of lily of the valley was so sweet that it filled the entire garden.
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She arranged a bouquet that included lily of the valley and fresh cut roses.
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In spring, the lily of the valley blooms beautifully, attracting many garden visitors.
Synonyms
A low plant with two leaves, small sweet white bell-shaped flowers and poisonous red berries
A low plant with two long leaves, small sweet-smelling bell flowers and red berries
A small plant with white bell-shaped flowers that smell sweet
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'lily' and 'valley', so a B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer it refers to a kind of flower associated with valleys. However, it is a fixed botanical name for a specific species (Convallaria majalis) with particular characteristics that are not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the transparency is partial.
Etymology
Lily of the valley comes from the picture of tiny white, bell-shaped flowers that look like small lilies growing low in the ground or in little hollows called valleys. So today lily of the valley means 'a small garden plant with sweet-smelling white bell flowers'.