daffodil
See also: Daffodil
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Variant of Middle English affodill (“ramson”), from Medieval Latin affodillus, from Latin asphodelus, from Ancient Greek ἀσφόδελος (asphódelos), of Pre-Greek origin. The initial d- is perhaps from merging of the article in Dutch de affodil, the Netherlands being a source for bulbs (compare adder, apron, newt, nickname, orange and umpire for this rebracketing process). Doublet of asphodel.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
daffodil (countable and uncountable, plural daffodils)
- (countable) A bulbous plant of the genus Narcissus, with yellow flowers and a trumpet shaped corona, especially Narcissus pseudonarcissus, the national flower of Wales.
- c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 290, column 1:
- When daffadils begin to peere, / With heigh the Doxy ouer the dale, / Why then comes in the ſweet o’ the yeere, / For the red blood raigns in yͤ winters pale.
- 1807, William Wordsworth, “[I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud]”, in Poems, in Two Volumes, volume II, London: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], →OCLC, stanza 1, page 49:
- I wandered lonely as a Cloud / That floats on high o’er Vales and Hills, / When all at once I saw a crowd / A host of dancing Daffodills; / Along the Lake, beneath the trees, / Ten thousand dancing in the breeze.
- 1919 November 20, A[lan] A[lexander] Milne, “Daffodils”, in Not That It Matters, New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton & Company […], published 1920, →OCLC, page 82:
- Was there ever a more beautiful name in the world than daffodil? Say it over to yourself, and then say “agapanthus” or “chrysanthemum,” or anything else you please, and tell me if the daffodils do not have it.
- A brilliant yellow color, like that of a daffodil.
- daffodil:
- a. 1887 (date written), Emily Dickinson, “Where Ships of purple gently toss”, in Mabel Loomis Todd and T[homas] W[entworth] Higginson, editors, Poems, Second Series, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1891, page 11:
- Where ships of purple gently toss / On seas of daffodil, / Fantastic sailors mingle, / And then—the wharf is still.
Coordinate terms edit
- (flower): asphodel, hippeastrum (Hippeastrum), jonquil, Lent lily, star grass
- (color): Appendix:Colors
Derived terms edit
- bunch-flowered daffodil (Narcissus tazetta)
- checkered daffodil (Fritillaria spp.)
- daffodil telephone
- hoop-petticoat daffodil (Narcissus bulbocodum)
- lily daffodil (Narcissus jonquilla)
- Malabar daffodil orchid (Ipsea malabarica)
- paper-white daffodil (Narcissus papyraceus)
- Peruvian daffodil
- poet's daffodil (Narcissus poeticus)
- rush daffodil, rush-leaved daffodil (Narcissus jonquilla)
- sea daffodil (Pancratium maritimum)
- wild daffodil (Narcissis pseudonarcissus)
- winter daffodil Sternbergia lutea
Related terms edit
Translations edit
flower
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Adjective edit
daffodil (comparative more daffodil, superlative most daffodil)
- Of a brilliant yellow color, like that of a daffodil.
