The story
- Spanish · derived frommariposa“butterfly”
- English todaymariposa lily
From Spanish mariposa (“butterfly”) + lily. So called from the attractive appearance of the blossoms.
Words from the same roots
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
mariposa lily
Today it means: Any member of several species in the genus Calochortus that grow in dry grasslands and semideserts, characterized as tuliplike, bulbous herbs with large and often brightly colored blossoms. Full definition →
Spanish mariposa