gladiolus
UK /ɡlædɪˈəʊləs/ · US /ɡlædɪˈoʊləs/ noun
Forms gladioli gladioluses gladiola gladiole
- noun (anatomy) The center part of the sternum.
- noun Any of several flowering plants, of the genus Gladiolus, having sword-shaped leaves and showy flowers on spikes; gladiola.
Synonyms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin gladiolus (“little sword, sword lily”), diminutive of gladius (“sword”). Compare Middle English gladiol, whence gladiole.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A genus of plants having bulbous roots and gladiate leaves, and including many species, some of which are cultivated and valued for the beauty of their flowers; the corn flag; the sword lily.
- noun The middle portion of the sternum in some animals; the mesosternum.
Etymology [L. See Gladiole.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “gladiolus”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details