Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of several tuberous-rooted plants of the genus Dahlia of the composite family, native to Mexico, Central America, and northern South America and cultivated for their showy, colorful flower heads.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A genus of plants, natural order Compositæ, of which several species are known, all natives of Mexico and Central America.
- noun [lowercase] A plant of the genus Dahlia.
- noun [lowercase] In dyeing, a violet coal-tar color consisting of the ethyl and methyl derivatives of rosaniline.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Bot.) A genus of plants native to Mexico and Central America, of the order Compositæ; also, any plant or flower of the genus. The numerous varieties of cultivated dahlias bear conspicuous flowers which differ in color.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Any plant of the
genus Dahlia ,tuberous perennial floweringplants native toMexico .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of several plants of or developed from the species Dahlia pinnata having tuberous roots and showy rayed variously colored flower heads; native to the mountains of Mexico and Central America and Colombia
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The term "dahlia" is used for the first time in 1791, when Cavanilles publishes Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum.
Did You Know? Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia 2008
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The term "dahlia" is used for the first time in 1791, when Cavanilles publishes Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum.
Did You Know? Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia 2008
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A dahlia from the garden of AKS, shot Labor Day weekend 2008.
Desire 2009
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A dahlia from the garden of AKS, shot Labor Day weekend 2008.
Archive 2009-06-01 2009
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Strangely, no blue variety has ever been cultivated, hence "blue dahlia" is sometimes used figuratively for something impossible or unattainable.
Did You Know? Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia 2008
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Later in the sixteenth century, the dahlia is described in the Codex Barberini, dating from 1552, and lost for centuries prior to its rediscovery in the Vatican Library in 1929.
Did You Know? Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia 2008
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Modern botanists agree that the dahlia is native to Mexico and Guatemala, but how did it come to be cultivated so widely all over the world today for its showy flowers?
Did You Know? Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia 2008
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Modern botanists agree that the dahlia is native to Mexico and Guatemala, but how did it come to be cultivated so widely all over the world today for its showy flowers?
Did You Know? Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia 2008
-
Later in the sixteenth century, the dahlia is described in the Codex Barberini, dating from 1552, and lost for centuries prior to its rediscovery in the Vatican Library in 1929.
Did You Know? Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia 2008
-
Strangely, no blue variety has ever been cultivated, hence "blue dahlia" is sometimes used figuratively for something impossible or unattainable.
Did You Know? Mexico's national flower is the humble dahlia 2008
lilacs524 commented on the word dahlia
My grandfather's favorite flower, he grew them. The word is very relaxing to me.
February 23, 2007
sanfordc commented on the word dahlia
It's relaxing to me, too...yet so little used! "...abandoning with her the environment of beetles and dahlias and passing through the air with her as four o'clock in the afternoon came to an end..." (Marquez, 100 Years of Solitude)
October 27, 2008