orchid

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UK/ˈɔː.kɪd/US/ˈɔɹ.kɪd/

noun

A plant of the orchid family (Orchidaceae), bearing unusually-shaped flowers of beautiful colours.

Similar
orchideaorchidaceous plant
OriginNew Latin Orchideae ← Latin orchis ← Ancient Greek ὄρχις →
CommonFirst used mid-19th c.Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounorchid (plural orchids)

plural orchids

  1. A plant of the orchid family (Orchidaceae), bearing unusually-shaped flowers of beautiful colours.First known use mid-19th c.
  2. A light bluish-red, violet-red or purple colour.
adjectiveorchid (not comparable)
  1. not comparableHaving a light purple colour.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
orchidea

nounany of numerous plants of the orchid family usually having flowers of unusual shapes and beautiful colors

Similar
orchidaceous plant
Broader
flower
Also see
orchidea

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekὄρχις“orchid, testicle”
  2. Latinorchis
  3. New LatinOrchideae
  4. Englishorchid

From New Latin Orchideae, Orchidaceae, an irregular formation from Latin orchis, from Ancient Greek ὄρχις (órkhis, “orchid, testicle”) (ostensibly from the shape of the roots). Supplanted Middle English ballokwort (literally “testicle plant”).

More words from New Latin, Latin, Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans orgidee
  • orgideeplant
Arabic أُورْكِيد, سَحْلَب
  • أُورْكِيد (ʔūrkīd)plant
  • سَحْلَب (saḥlab)plant
Bulgarian орхидея
  • орхидея (orhideja)plant
Catalan orquídia
  • orquídiaplant
Chinese Mandarin 蘭花 /兰花
  • 蘭花 /兰花 (lánhuā)plant
Czech orchidea, orchidej
  • orchideaplant
  • orchidejplant
Danish gøgeurt
  • gøgeurtplant
Dutch orchidee, lichtpaars
  • orchideeplant
  • lichtpaarscolour
Esperanto orkido, orĥido
  • orkidoplant
  • orĥidoplant
Estonian orhidee
  • orhideeplant
Finnish kämmekkä, orkidea
  • kämmekkäplant
  • orkideaplant
French orchidée
  • orchidéeplant
German Orchidee, Knabenkraut
  • Orchideeplant
  • Knabenkrautplant
Greek ορχιδέα
  • ορχιδέα (orchidéa)plant
Hebrew סחלב
  • סחלב (sakhlav)plant
Hindi ऑर्किड
  • ऑर्किड (ŏrkiḍ)plant
Hungarian orchidea
  • orchideaplant
Icelandic brönugras
  • brönugrasplant
Indonesian anggrek, bunga anggrek
  • anggrekplant
  • bunga anggrekplant
Irish magairlín, lus na magairlí
  • magairlínplant
  • lus na magairlíplant
Italian orchide, orchidea
  • orchideplant
  • orchideaplant
Japanese 蘭, 蘭の花
  • 蘭 (ran)plant
  • 蘭の花 (ran no hana)plant
Korean 난초
  • 난초 (nancho)plant
Latin orchis
  • orchisplant
Lithuanian orchidėja
  • orchidėjaplant
Malay anggerik, orkid
  • anggerikplant
  • orkidplant
Norwegian Bokmål orkidé, orkide
  • orkidéplant
  • orkideplant
Polish orchidea, storczyk
  • orchideaplant
  • storczykplant
Portuguese orquídea
  • orquídeaplant
Romanian orhidee
  • orhideeplant
Russian орхиде́я, ятры́шник
  • орхиде́я (orxidéja)plant
  • ятры́шник (jatrýšnik)plant
Slovak orchidea
  • orchideaplant
Spanish orquídea, orquídea
  • orquídeaplant
  • orquídeacolour
Swedish orkidé
  • orkidéplant
Tagalog dapo, orkid
  • dapoplant
  • orkidplant
  • orkidyasplant
Thai กล้วยไม้
  • กล้วยไม้ (glûai-máai)plant
Turkish orkide
  • orkideplant
Vietnamese phong lan, lan
  • phong lanplant
  • lanplant
Welsh tegeirian
  • tegeirianplant

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

rhodic
Cite this entry
APA

orchid. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/orchid

MLA

“orchid.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/orchid. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “orchid,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/orchid.

Source: orchid on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.