Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun pl. gladioli (-lī). A plant of the genus Gladiolus; a sword-lily.
  • noun [capitalized] A genus of very beautiful iridaceous plants, with corms or bulb-like rhizomes, and erect leafy stems bearing a spike of large and very variously colored flowers.
  • noun In anat., the intermediate segments of the sternum, between the manubrium and the xiphoid or ensiform appendage.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) A genus of plants having bulbous roots and gladiate leaves, and including many species, some of which are cultivated and valued for the beauty of their flowers; the corn flag; the sword lily.
  • noun (Anat.) The middle portion of the sternum in some animals; the mesosternum.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A taxonomic genus within the tribe Ixieae — the gladioli..

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivated
  • noun the large central part of the breastbone

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Gladiolus.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.