daffodil
pronunciation
How to pronounce daffodil in British English:
UK [ˈdæfədɪl]
How to pronounce daffodil in American English:
US [ˈdæfədɪl]
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- Noun:
- any of numerous varieties of Narcissus plants having showy often yellow flowers with a trumpet-shaped central crown
Word Origin
- daffodil
- daffodil: [16] Originally, this word was affodil, and referred to a plant of the lily family, the asphodel; it came from medieval Latin affodillus, and the reason for the change from asph- (or asf-, as it often was in medieval texts) to aff- is probably that the s in medieval manuscripts looked very like an f. The first evidence of its use to refer to a ‘daffodil’, rather than an ‘asphodel’, comes in the middle of the 16th century. It is not entirely clear where the initial d came from, but the likeliest explanation is that daffodil represents Dutch de affodil ‘the daffodil’ (the Dutch were then as now leading exponents of bulb cultivation).
- daffodil (n.)
- 1540s, variant of Middle English affodill "asphodel" (c. 1400), from Medieval Latin affodillus, from Latin asphodelus, from Greek asphodelos, which is of unknown origin. The initial d- is perhaps from merging of the article in Dutch de affodil, the Netherlands being a source for bulbs. First reference to the flower we know by this name (Narcissus pseudo-Narcissus) is from 1590s.
Example
- 1. Another welcome flower is the daffodil .
- 2. Daffodil bulb diners tend to experience nausea , vomiting , cramps and diarrhea .
- 3. Mike lizotte : " a hardy bulb is one that prefers cold temperatures . So therefore it can be left in the ground , such as a daffodil or tulip . "
- 4. The lace design incorporated rose , thistle , daffodil and shamrock - the emblems of england , scotland , wales and northern ireland .