| 释义 |
mayflower|ˈmeɪflaʊə(r)|
[f. May n.3 + flower n. Cf. G. maiblume, Du. meibloem lily of the valley; so may-blossom (May n.3 5 c).]
1. A flower that blooms in May: used locally as a specific name for various plants, as the Cowslip (Primula veris), the Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis); see Britten & Holland Plant-n.
1626Bacon Sylva §507 They are commonly of rancke and fulsome Smell; As May-Flowers, and White Lillies. [1659Howell Prov. 12/1 April showers bring forth May flowers.] 1688R. Holme Armoury ii. 70 The Cowslip..we call it a May-flower. 1776Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad i. 24 May-flowers crouding o'er the daisy-lawn. 1817Keats ‘I stood tiptoe’ 29 A bush of May-flowers with the bees about them. 1853G. Johnston Bot. E. Bord. 33 Cardamine pratensis... In Roxburghshire..it is called the May-flower.
fig.1576Gascoigne Steele Glass (Arb.) 119, I hope very shortly to see the May flowers of your fauour.
2. A variety of apple.
1664Evelyn Kal. Hort. Aug. 72 Apples... Cushion Apple, Spicing, May-flower.
3. N. Amer.
a. Azalea nudiflora.
b. The trailing arbutus, Epigæa repens.
1838Loudon Arboretum II. 1140 Rhododendron nudiflorum Torr. (Azalea nudiflora L.)..the American Honeysuckle; May Flowers. 1853W. H. Bartlett Pilgr. Fathers iii. 182 The beautiful May-flower—with its delicate roseate blossom and delicious scent. 1882Garden 13 May 323/1 The May-flower..is the emblem of Nova Scotia, with the motto, ‘We bloom amid the snow’.
4. The West Indian Dalbergia Brownei and Ecastaphyllum Brownei.
1864Grisebach Flora W. Ind. 785.
5. The South American Lælia majalis.
1894Wright & Dewar Johnson's Gard. Dict. |