Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
toad lily

toad lily

8.4
A plant that lives many years, has spotted flowers, and grows in damp shade
  • noun
  • /toʊd ˈlɪli/
translation icon : lirio sapo
  • In the wild, toad lilies thrive in damp, wooded areas near streams.

Examples

  • The toad lily blooms beautifully in late summer.

  • The delicate blooms of the toad lily brighten shady gardens in late summer.

  • Gardeners often prize the toad lily for its unique, orchid-like appearance.

  • I planted several toad lilies in my garden.

  • In my garden, the toad lily produces beautiful spotted flowers every summer.

  • We visited a botanical garden to see the toad lily in full bloom.

  • The toad lily thrives in shaded areas and adds a unique touch to floral arrangements.

Synonyms

Tricyrtis
vstoad lily
  • Specialized
9.9

A plant from Asia that grows in shade, lives for many years, and has spotted flowers called toad lilies

is a broader cultivated plant term not limited to the strict Asian genus

Surface Forms

toad lily singular
toad lilies plural

Morphology

toad + lily

This is a straightforward modifier+noun compound: a B1 learner who knows 'toad' and 'lily' will infer it denotes a kind of lily associated with or resembling a toad, i.e. a type of plant. The compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically, so the basic meaning (a specific kind of lily) is transparently derivable even if fine botanical details are not.

Etymology

Toad lily may come from a simple picture: the flower's spotted petals look like a toad's bumpy skin, and the plant likes shady, wet spots where toads live. That's why the words toad and lily were joined and why toad lily now means this pretty garden flower.