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tiger lily

tiger lily

1 4.6
A tall garden flower with orange or yellow spotted petals that curve back
  • noun
  • /ˈtaɪɡər ˈlɪli/
translation icon : lirio tigre
  • She carefully arranged the tiger lilies in the vase, admiring their bold and beautiful petals.
  • pink tiger lilies
  • orange tiger lilies
  • tiger lily stem

Examples

  • She planted dahlias, gladiolas, mums, peonies, tiger lilies, lupines, and lots and lots of tulips.

    Blog text (4)
  • Rooted it among the tiger lilies.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • "A tiger lily stem," Arna says.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • I am a tea rose, a purple iris, and often a long-stem tiger lily.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Tiger lilies love the dandelions In the golden afternoon

  • I stoop to rescue the handful of tiger lilies floating by the dock.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Hadn't he helped her grandmother plant the orange-speckled tiger lilies that adorned the east and west sides of the house?

    Fiction book (1993)
  • I see even the tiger lily, with its bulbs, growing by the roadside far from houses (near Leighton's graveyard).

    Blog text (6)
  • In the colorful garden, the vibrant tiger lilies stood out with their striking orange and black spots.

  • The tiger lily is known for its unique appearance, featuring large, recurved petals that are often orange with dark spots.

Synonyms

lily
vstiger lily
165 1.0

A tall plant with large, showy bell-shaped flowers often grown in gardens

is a specific spotted, recurved-petalled type rather than the general genus
Lilium lancifolium
vstiger lily
  • Specialized
9.9

A garden plant with large orange flowers with black spots called tiger lily

is the general type rather than a named East Asian species
kentan
vstiger lily
9.9

A tall plant with bright orange, spotted flowers whose petals bend backwards

is less extreme in petal curve and uses recurved not strongly reflexed

Surface Forms

tiger lily singular
tiger lilies plural

Morphology

tiger + lily

As a noun compound, 'tiger' functions as a modifier of 'lily' indicating a lily that has tiger-like coloration or patterning; a B1 learner who knows 'tiger' (the animal) and 'lily' (the flower) can infer this meaning directly. Naming plants by resemblance to animals is common cross-linguistically, so the composition is straightforward and transparent.

Etymology

Tiger lily gets its name from the flower's look: its bright orange petals have dark spots like a tiger's coat. That's why the words tiger and lily together now mean 'a spotted, colorful lily'.