Word of the Day: May 9, 2009 ~ orchid

orchid (awr-kid) - noun

An orchid is "any of numerous plants of the orchid family usually having flowers of unusual shapes and beautiful colors."

First used in the written form in 1845 by John Lindley in "School Botany."

The lovely and expensive orchid holds in its name the Greek word for "testicle," which is orchis. Even Pliny the Elder, Roman author and naturalist, said, 2,000 years ago, that the orchid was remarkable in that, with its double roots, it resembles the testicles. These are his Latin words: "Mirabilis est orchis herba, sive serapias, gemina radice testiculis simili." The word orchis now survives in English only as a botanical and medical term.

Photo by Randy Son of Robert

Comments

[Vanilla]

Testicle? Kinda awkward.... Orchid is our national flower.
--- Vanilla (Singapore)
Get a world view from Singapore at http://www.whatsayyouvanilla.blogspot.com/