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 affodilthe daffodil’ (the Dutch were then as now leading exponents of bulb cultivation).

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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Synonyms:
, , , , (in the early English poets inaccurately)


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Daffodil — est une série de bande dessinée. Scénario : Brrémaud Dessins : Giovanni Rigano Couleurs : Paolo Lamanna Albums Tome 1 : Addio Colonnello (2004) « Addio Colonnello » est une ville lointaine, un port au delà des océans …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Daffodil — Daf fo*dil (d[a^]f f[ o]*d[i^]l), n. [OE. affodylle, prop., the asphodel, fr. LL. affodillus (cf. D. affodille or OF. asphodile, aphodille, F. asphod[ e]le), L. asphodelus, fr. Gr. asfo delos. The initial d in English is not satisfactorily… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Daffodil — f English: one of the rarer flower names, which perhaps originated as an expanded version of DAFFY (SEE Daffy). The flower got its name in the 14th century from a run together form of Dutch de affodil ‘the asphodel’ …   First names dictionary

  • daffodil — (n.) 1540s, variant of M.E. affodill asphodel (c.1400), from M.L. affodillus, from L. asphodelus, from Gk. asphodelos, of unknown origin. The initial d is perhaps from merging of the article in Du. de affodil, the Netherlands being a source for… …   Etymology dictionary

  • daffodil — ► NOUN ▪ a plant bearing bright yellow flowers with a long trumpet shaped centre. ORIGIN originally as affodill: from Latin asphodilus asphodel …   English terms dictionary

  • daffodil — [daf′ə dil΄] n. [ME affodille < ML affodillus < LL asphodelus < Gr asphodelos: initial d < ?] 1. any of various plants (genus Narcissus) of the lily family with a typically yellow flower having a large, trumpetlike corona 2. the… …   English World dictionary

  • Daffodil — DAF 30 DAF 2 Zylinder Boxermotor …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • daffodil — /daf euh dil/, n. 1. a bulbous plant, Narcissus pseudonarcissus, of the amaryllis family, having solitary, yellow, nodding flowers that bloom in the spring. 2. (formerly) any plant of the genus Narcissus. 3. clear yellow; canary. adj. 4. of the… …   Universalium

  • 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 Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • daffodil — tariamasis narcizas statusas T sritis vardynas apibrėžtis Amarilinių šeimos dekoratyvinis, vaistinis nuodingas augalas (Narcissus pseudonarcissus), paplitęs pietų Europoje, šiaurės Afrikoje ir pietvakarių Azijoje. atitikmenys: lot. Narcissus… …   Lithuanian dictionary (lietuvių žodynas)

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