Definition of Orchis

1. Noun. Any of various deciduous terrestrial orchids having fleshy tubers and flowers in erect terminal racemes.


2. Noun. One of the two male reproductive glands that produce spermatozoa and secrete androgens. "She kicked him in the balls and got away"

Definition of Orchis

1. n. A genus of endogenous plants growing in the North Temperate zone, and consisting of about eighty species. They are perennial herbs growing from a tuber (beside which is usually found the last year's tuber also), and are valued for their showy flowers. See Orchidaceous.

Definition of Orchis

1. Noun. Any plant of the genus ''Orchis''; an orchid ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Orchis

1. an orchid [n -CHISES] - See also: orchid

Medical Definition of Orchis

1. Origin: L, fr. Gr. A testicle, the orchis; so called from its tubers. 1. A genus of endogenous plants growing in the North Temperate zone, and consisting of about eighty species. They are perennial herbs growing from a tuber (beside which is usually found the last year's tuber also), and are valued for their showy flowers. See Orchidaceous. 2. Any plant of the same family with the orchis; an orchid. The common names, such as bee orchis, fly orchis, butterfly orchis, etc, allude to the peculiar form of the flower. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Orchis

orchillas
orchils
orchio-
orchiocele
orchiodynia
orchioncus
orchioneuralgia
orchiopathy
orchiopexies
orchioplasty
orchiorrhaphy
orchiotherapy
orchiotomy
orchises
orchitic
orchitides
orchitis parotidea
orchitis variolosa
orchitises
orchotomies
orcin
orcine
orcines
orcinol
orcinol test

Literary usage of Orchis

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Medical Lexicon: A Dictionary of Medical Science; Containing a Concise by Robley Dunglison (1874)
"The root of the orchis bifu'fia or Butterfly orchis hns likewise been collected. It has been used as a demulcent. Its fancied aphrodisiac virtues seem to be ..."

2. The Gardeners Dictionary: Containing the Methods of Cultivating and ...by Philip Miller by Philip Miller (1754)
"С. В. Р. The Male handed orchis, or Male Satyrion Royal. 18. ... С. В. P. Redr handed orchis, with long Spurs. 10. orchis palmata minor ..."

3. A Dictionary of English Plant-names by James Britten, Robert Holland (1886)
"In common years it is 12 or 13 foot long; it is a sort of knott-grasse, aud the pigs will eat it.' orchis. The general book-name for many ..."

4. The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge edited by George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana (1864)
"Other allied genera bear the name of orchis, of which the bee orchis ... These several kinds are not uncommon in Europe.—The showy orchis ..."

5. English Botany, Or, Coloured Figures of British Plants, with Their Essential by James Edward Smith, James Sowerby (1809)
"We are persuaded of the propriety of terming the 3 outer leaves of the flower, in the orchis tribe, a calyx, and the 2 inner ones petals, see Introd. to Bot ..."

6. The Various Contrivances by which Orchids are Fertilized by Insects by Charles Darwin (1889)
"The accompanying diagrams (fig. 1, p. 8) show the relative position of the more important organs in the flower of the Early orchis (O. ..."

7. Pharmacographia Indica: A History of the Principal Drugs of Vegetable Origin by William Dymock (1893)
"It is not known exactly what all of these were, but it is certain that some of them were the tubers of different species of orchis. ..."

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