tulip
/ˈtjuːlɪp
/noun
A bulbous spring-flowering plant of the lily family, with boldly coloured cup-shaped flowers.
- Genus Tulipa, family Liliaceae: numerous complex hybrids.
- Fall is the time to plant the tulips, daffodils and hyacinths that bloom in the spring.
- These are the places to plant colorful tulips, daffodils and other spring bulbs now.
Origin
Late 16th century: from French tulipe, via Turkish from Persian dulband 'turban', from the shape of the expanded flower.
turban from mid 16th century:
The words turban and tulip are from the same source. Turkish people compared the flower of the tulip to the shape of the turban and gave the plant the same name, tūlbend, which they took from Persian dulband. The tulip made a spectacular impression, and cost a spectacular amount of money when it came from Turkey into western Europe in the 16th century. At first forms such as tulipan and tulban existed alongside turban as the name of the headdress, whereas the name of the flower always appeared in the -l- form, and eventually monopolized that spelling.