Definitions

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

  • noun Plural form of gladiolus.

Etymologies

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Support

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

Examples

  • The dapper pink gladioli I planted last spring near the boxwood hedge had finally bloomed, the blush-pink peonies—unfashionable but one of my favourites—were out after I had given up on them, and the air smelled of fresh earth and honeysuckle.

    Exit the Actress Priya Parmar 2011

  • The dapper pink gladioli I planted last spring near the boxwood hedge had finally bloomed, the blush-pink peonies—unfashionable but one of my favourites—were out after I had given up on them, and the air smelled of fresh earth and honeysuckle.

    Exit the Actress Priya Parmar 2011

  • Neuhauser won in 1925 with the word "gladiolus" and Bell won in 1926 with the "cerise," so bee officials placed an arrangement of cerise-colored gladioli at the base of the trophy pedestal onstage.

    Pa. girl wins Bee with 'cymotrichous' 2011

  • Her signature cake was an ornate arrangement of crafted flowers springing out of a cake vase, edible gladioli, roses, delphiniums, flowing ivy held by a genoise urn.

    Act of Creation J.A. Pak 2011

  • Each registers a distinct floral note — the lilies and gladioli for the funeral parlours, irises and tulips and birds of paradise for the wives of contrite husbands, pink and crinoline-white carnations for the velvet lapels of hopeful prom kings, thorny roses for the lovers and poets and perky daisies and mums and marigolds for the pick-me-ups and get-well-soons.

    Virginity Paul Hargreaves 2010

  • An acquaintance of my mother, who lives very near to a Lady in White, told her that they are under orders not to assault these women in light clothing with gladioli in their hands.

    Yoani Sanchez: Just Following Orders 2010

  • With a stupid bunch of gladioli Mama stuffed into my hand.

    A Mountain of Crumbs Elena Gorokhova 2010

  • With a stupid bunch of gladioli Mama stuffed into my hand.

    A Mountain of Crumbs Elena Gorokhova 2010

  • Gladioli timesThe gladioli has a tendency towards the frilly and the froufrou, but lots are delicate and there is still time to plant them for late summer spires of colour.

    In the garden this week: Net fruit bushes, plus gladioli times 2010

  • Net now so the birds don't nick all your fruit, plus there's still time to plant gladioli

    In the garden this week: Net fruit bushes, plus gladioli times 2010

Comments

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

  • Plural of gladiola?

    October 13, 2007

  • Gladiola is plural for gladiolus, and this word is an alternate plural form of the same thing. I actually prefer this one.

    October 13, 2007

  • Ah. I think at some point I knew that, a long time ago.

    PS this one definitely does sound better. It's got that nice 'aoli' sound going on, reminds me of Italian food. (Aglio y olio? Or am I thinking of some kind of appetizer?)

    October 13, 2007

  • You might be thinking of aioli, a French garlic sauce.

    Gladiolus comes from the Latin for "sword," because the plant's leaves are shaped like swords. Isn't that nifty? Same root as gladiator.

    I could never get past the "glad" part though. It makes me think of flowers that are just way too happy.

    October 13, 2007

  • Aioli, yeah, that's it! Thanks, that was totally going to bug me. (And BTW, isn't that a cool word? So many vowels in a row. Those wacky French! *makes note to add to Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys list*)

    That is very cool about the etymology but I completely agree, it's sort of cognitive dissonance because you don't expect flowers to be glad. But I like it much better now that I know the connection to gladiator.

    October 13, 2007

  • Well, one does expect flowers to be glad, I guess, in the sense of happy and perky and pretty and all that, but I just don't like the word glad.

    You know the poster for the movie "40-Year-Old Virgin"? Now, I love that poster, and love Steve Carell, but that's the kind of goofy, fake-looking expression I think of when I hear the word "glad." So, if a flower looked like that, I'd be all like, "Shut up," and shit. I'd be in its face, you know? Like, "shut up!"

    October 13, 2007

  • You...uh...scream at flowers a lot, chained_bear?

    Arby, you may have been thinking of aglio e olio, which is Italian for "garlic and olive oil." Simple pasta dressing. Also, unfortunately, an EP by the Beastie Boys. But don't think about that last part.

    October 13, 2007