Meanings
lily of the valley1
plural lilies of the valley · alternative lily-of-the-valley
- A flowering plant, Convallaria majalis, with richly fragrant pendant bells.
Oh, what a perfect thought. Lilies-of-the-valley, and white pansies, double white violets and white velvet ribbon… From an unknown friend. … From one who understands. … For a Little Girl.
1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Revelations”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 271 - A flower of this plant.
The aroma given off by flowers has an aphrodisiac effect, especially on women. This is so particularly in the case of lilies of the valley, gardenia, frangipani, and henna.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 98
Lily of the Valley2
plural Lilies of the Valley
- Alternative letter-case form of lily of the valley.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounlow-growing perennial plant having usually two large oblong lanceolate leaves and a raceme of small fragrant nodding bell-shaped flowers followed by scarlet berries
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Biblical Hebrewשׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים
- Englishlily of the valley
Calque of Biblical Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים (šôšannat hāʿămāqîm), a reference to Song of Solomon 2:1.
More words from Biblical Hebrew
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian момина сълза
- момина сълза (momina sălza)Convallaria majalis
Catalan muguet, lliri de maig
- muguetConvallaria majalis
- lliri de maigConvallaria majalis
Chinese Mandarin 鈴蘭 /铃兰
- 鈴蘭 /铃兰 (línglán)Convallaria majalis
Czech konvalinka vonná
- konvalinka vonnáConvallaria majalis
Dutch lelietje-van-dalen, meiklokje
- lelietje-van-dalenConvallaria majalis
- meiklokjeConvallaria majalis
Esperanto majfloro, konvalo
- majfloroConvallaria majalis
- konvaloConvallaria majalis
Estonian maikelluke, piibeleht
- maikellukeConvallaria majalis
- piibelehtConvallaria majalis
Finnish kielo
- kieloConvallaria majalis
French muguet
- muguetConvallaria majalis
German Maiglöckchen
- MaiglöckchenConvallaria majalis
Hungarian gyöngyvirág
- gyöngyvirágConvallaria majalis
Icelandic dalalilja
- dalaliljaConvallaria majalis
Irish lile na ngleanntán
- lile na ngleanntánConvallaria majalis
Italian mughetto
- mughettoConvallaria majalis
Japanese 鈴蘭
- 鈴蘭 (suzuran)Convallaria majalis
Korean 은방울꽃
- 은방울꽃 (eunbang'ulkkot)Convallaria majalis
Latvian maijpuķīte, kreimene
- maijpuķīteConvallaria majalis
- kreimeneConvallaria majalis
Lithuanian pakalnutė
- pakalnutėConvallaria majalis
Norwegian Bokmål liljekonvall
- liljekonvallConvallaria majalis
Polish konwalia
- konwaliaConvallaria majalis
Portuguese lírio-do-vale
- lírio-do-valeConvallaria majalis
Romanian lăcrimioară
- lăcrimioarăConvallaria majalis
Russian ла́ндыш
- ла́ндыш (lándyš)Convallaria majalis
Slovak konvalinka voňavá
- konvalinka voňaváConvallaria majalis
Spanish lirio del valle
- lirio del valleConvallaria majalis
Swedish liljekonvalj
- liljekonvaljConvallaria majalis
Turkish inci çiçeği, müge
- inci çiçeğiConvallaria majalis
- mügeConvallaria majalis
Ukrainian конва́лія
- конва́лія (konválija)Convallaria majalis
Welsh lili'r dyffrynnoedd
- lili'r dyffrynnoeddConvallaria majalis
Cite this entry
lily of the valley. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lily%20of%20the%20valley
“lily of the valley.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lily%20of%20the%20valley. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lily of the valley,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lily%20of%20the%20valley.
Source: lily of the valley on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.