Orchids are plants with brightly coloured, unusually shaped flowers.
orchid in British English
(ˈɔːkɪd)
noun
any terrestrial or epiphytic plant of the family Orchidaceae, often having flowers of unusual shapes and beautiful colours, specialized for pollination by certain insects
a perennial plant of the orchid family, that grows in the ground or as an epiphyte and is characterized by waxy pollen masses, minute seeds, and bilaterally symmetrical flowers with three petals, one of which is lip-shaped with many distinctive forms
2.
the flower of such a plant; esp., any of the brightly colored tropical varieties cultivated for wear as a corsage
3.
a light bluish red, or pale purple
adjective
4.
of this color
5.
designating a worldwide family (Orchidaceae, order Orchidales) of monocotyledonous plants
Word origin
< ModL Orchideae: so named (1751) by Linnaeus < *orchid-, mistaken as stem of L orchis: see orchis