tulip

[too-lip, tyoo-] /ˈtu lɪp, ˈtyu-/
noun
1.
any of various plants belonging to the genus Tulipa, of the lily family, cultivated in many varieties, and having lance-shaped leaves and large, showy, usually erect, cup-shaped or bell-shaped flowers in a variety of colors.
2.
a flower or bulb of such a plant.
Origin
1570-80; earlier tulipa < Neo-Latin, apparently back formation from Italian tulipano (taken as adj.) < Turkish tülbent turban (from a fancied likeness); see turban
Related forms
tuliplike, adjective
Examples from the web for tulip
  • Maybe the best native species will be loblolly pine, oak and tulip-poplar.
  • The curl prevents the chenille stem from pulling out of the tulip and forms the center of the flower.
  • Every tulip bulb owner had made a fortune in mark to market terms, at some point.
  • Faster than a tulip opening after a few days of unseasonably warm spring weather.
  • Most of the wetlands are dominated by tulip poplar, but a more mature forest is found on the northwestern arm.
British Dictionary definitions for tulip

tulip

/ˈtjuːlɪp/
noun
1.
any spring-blooming liliaceous plant of the temperate Eurasian genus Tulipa, having tapering bulbs, long broad pointed leaves, and single showy bell-shaped flowers
2.
the flower or bulb of any of these plants
Derived Forms
tulip-like, adjective
Word Origin
C17: from New Latin tulipa, from Turkish tülbend turban, which the opened bloom was thought to resemble
Word Origin and History for tulip
n.

1570s, via Dutch or German tulpe, French tulipe "a tulip," all ultimately from Turkish tülbent "turban," also "gauze, muslin," from Persian dulband "turban;" so called from the fancied resemblance of the flower to a turban.

Introduced from Turkey to Europe, where the earliest known instance of a tulip flowering in cultivation is 1559 in the garden of Johann Heinrich Herwart in Augsburg; popularized in Holland after 1587 by Clusius. The full form of the Turkish word is represented in Italian tulipano, Spanish tulipan, but the -an tended to drop in Germanic languages, where it was mistaken for a suffix. Tulip tree (1705), a North American magnolia, so called from its tulip-shaped flowers.