Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of numerous tropical American orchids of the genus Oncidium, having clusters of showy flowers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A genus of orchids of the tribe Vandeæ, type of the subtribe Oncidieæ, and known by the free, spreading sepals, and spurless lip free from the short two-auricled column.

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

  • noun (Bot.) A genus of tropical orchidaceous plants, the flower of one species of which (Oncidium Papilio) resembles a butterfly.

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

  • noun botany Any of the genus Oncidium of tropical orchidaceous plants.

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

  • noun any orchid of the genus Oncidium: characterized by slender branching sprays of small yellow and brown flowers; often grown as houseplants

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin Oncidium, genus name : Greek onkos, barb, hook (from the shape of its labellum) + New Latin -idium, diminutive suff. (from Greek -idion).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the genus name.

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Examples

  • The day the first family moved into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Ms. Clarke filled the residence with tall, clear cylinders of forsythia, oncidium orchids and cream-colored cymbidium orchids -- some of the first lady's favorites.

    Choosing a New Flower Czar 2009

  • Your orchid oncidium looks stunning, the flowers are gorgeous.

    Bloom Days January 2008 « Fairegarden 2008

  • They're both oncidium type orchids, grow long spikes with lots of flowers.

    02/23/2007 2007

  • This is a pretty standard run-of-the mill oncidium orchid.

    12/09/2005 2005

  • This is an enormous oncidium at a local orchid greenhouse in Virgnia - Al's Orchid Exchange.

    06/08/2007 2007

  • Among the most beautiful is the oncidium, of a yellow hue, often seen -- apparently suspended in air between the stems of two trees -- shining in the gloom, as if its petals were of gold.

    The Western World Picturesque Sketches of Nature and Natural History in North and South America William Henry Giles Kingston 1847

  • If you have orchids in small pots (I have one miniature variety of oncidium) then you might need to water once or twice a day but if you have a medium sized plant, particularly one with a psuedobulb at the base of the leaves where it can store up water, then once a week is usually sufficient.

    Scribbit | A Blog About Motherhood in Alaska 2008

  • This oncidium Sharry Baby’ is a workhorse plant with several blooms through the year.

    Bloom Days January 2008 « Fairegarden 2008

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