Meanings
jonquil1
plural jonquils · alternative jonquille
- A shade of yellow.First known use late 18th c.
At sunset dusky ghosts of sampans, laden with families living up the river, glide homeward against a jonquil sky.
March 1920, Alice Ballantine Kirjassoff, “FORMOSA THE BEAUTIFUL”, in National Geographic Magazine, page 2581 more example
She had a jonquil silk pelisse, a bonnet of the same colour, with a bird of paradise plume, looking very much like an illuminated butterfly.
1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XIV, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 187
Jonquil2
- rareA female given name from English.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounwidely cultivated ornamental plant native to southern Europe but naturalized elsewhere having fragrant yellow or white clustered flowers
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
jonquil · noun
- Spanishjunquillo
- Frenchjonquille
- Englishjonquil
Borrowed from French jonquille, itself a borrowing from Spanish junquillo. Possible doublet of junket.
More words from French, Spanish
Full word history & related roots →Jonquil · proper noun
From jonquil; one of the flower names invented in the 19th century.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan jonquillo
- jonquilloNarcissus jonquilla
Czech narcis okolíkatý
- narcis okolíkatýNarcissus jonquilla
Finnish nunnannarsissi
- nunnannarsissiNarcissus jonquilla
French jonquille
- jonquilleNarcissus jonquilla
German Jonquille
- JonquilleNarcissus jonquilla
Hindi नरगिस, नर्गिस
- नरगिस (nargis)Narcissus jonquilla
- नर्गिस (nargis)Narcissus jonquilla
Italian giunchiglia
- giunchigliaNarcissus jonquilla
Portuguese junquilho
- junquilhoNarcissus jonquilla
Russian жонки́лия
- жонки́лия (žonkílija)Narcissus jonquilla
Spanish junquillo
- junquilloNarcissus jonquilla
Turkish fulya, zerrin
- fulyaNarcissus jonquilla
- zerrinNarcissus jonquilla
Cite this entry
jonquil. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jonquil
“jonquil.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jonquil. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jonquil,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jonquil.
Source: jonquil on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.