lily
(ˈlɪlɪ)
Forms: 1, 3–5 lilie, 4 lely, leli, lilye, luly, 4–5 lylye, lyle, 4–6 lely, 5 lylie, lylle, lelly, lele, 5–6 lyl(l)y, 5–8 lilly, 6 lile, 6–7 lillie, lyllie, 8– lily. pl. 1 lilian, 2 lilien, 5 lilijs, -iis, lylly(e)s, lylyes, lelyes, 6 Sc. lilleis, 6–8 lillies, 7 lyllies, 8 lilys, 4– lilies.
[OE. lilie wk. fem., ad. L. līlium, a. Gr. λείριον.
The L. word has passed into nearly all the European langs.: OS. lilli, Du. lelie, OHG. lilja, liljo (MHG. lilje, gilge, mod.G. lilie), ON. lilia (Sw. lilja, Da. lilie; F. lis (cf. fleur-de-lis), Pr. lilis, liris (:—popular L. *līlius), Sp., Pg. lirio, It. giglio.]
A. n.
1. a. Any plant (or its flower) of the genus Lilium (family Liliaceæ) of bulbous herbs bearing at the top of a tall slender stem large showy flowers of white, reddish, or purplish colour, often marked with dark spots on the inside; esp. (without qualification) L. candidum, the White or Madonna Lily (cf. b), which grows wild in some Eastern countries, and has from early times been cultivated in gardens; it is a type of whiteness or purity.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 7 Seo hwitnes þære lilian scineþ on þe. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 90 Drince he lilian wyrttruman awylledne on wine oððe on ealað. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1433 Se rudie & se reade ilitet eauereach leor as lilie ileid to rose. c 1386 Chaucer Doctor's T. 32 As she [Nature] kan peynte a lilie whit And reed a Rose. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. xci. (1495) 658 The lely is an herbe wyth a whyte flour and though the leuys of the floure be whyte yet wythin shyneth the lyknesse of golde. a 1400–50 Alexander 3902 Leons quyte as lylly. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 200 Þou schalt make þe lyme neische wiþ oile of lilie. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xiii, I was radder of rode þene rose in þe rone, My lere as þe lele, louched one highte. 1562 Turner Herbal ii. 38 The Lily hath a long stalk... The flour is excedyng white. 1634 Milton Comus 862 In twisted braids of Lillies knitting The loose train of thy amber-dropping hair. 1704 Pope Autumn 26 For her, the lillies hang their heads and die. 1820 Shelley Sensit. Plant 33 The wand⁓like lily, which lifted up,..its moonlight-coloured cup. |
b. With qualification, applied to: (
a) various other plants of the genus
Lilium or family Liliaceæ, the qualifying word indicating the colour, appearance, habitat, etc.;
e.g. flax,
martagon,
orange,
panther,
Persian,
St. Bruno's,
tiger,
Turk's cap lily (see the first element); (
b) certain allied plants,
esp. of family Amaryllidaceæ,
e.g. belladonna calla,
gold,
Guernsey,
ixia,
Jacobæa(n,
knight's star,
lent,
lide,
Mexican,
pond,
sword lily (see the first element); also
day-lily,
water-lily.
African lily,
Agapanthus umbellatus (
Treas. Bot.).
Atamasco lily,
Zephyranthes Atamasco.
yellow lily,
† (
a) the yellow iris,
Iris Pseudacorus; (
b) the daffodil,
Narcissus Pseudonarcissus (
dial.).
| 1555 Eden Decades 200 An herbe much lyke vnto a yelowe lyllie. 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. xlii. 200 The white Lillies be very common not only in this Countrie, but in all places els where in gardens. Ibid. xliii. 201 Of the Orenge colour, and redde purple Lillies. Ibid. xliv. 202 The wilde Lillie hath a straight rounde stemme set full of long leaues, at the toppe whereof there grow fayre pleasant floures..of an old purple or dimme incarnate colour, poudered or dashte with small spottes. Ibid. xlvi. 204 The yellowe Lillie non bulbus, his leaues be long and narrow..flowers much lyke to the other Lillies, of a fainte or Ochre colour yellowe... The darke red and purple Lillie non bulbus. 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. xciii. 150 Lilium montanum maius, the great mountaine Lilly. 1633 Johnson Gerarde's Herbal i. cvi. 199 The Yellow Mountain Lilly with the spotted floure. 1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece ii. iii. 374 Fiery Lilly,..Yellow Asphodel Lilly. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 317 African Scarlet Lily, Amaryllis. Atamasco Lily, Amaryllis. 1882 Garden 20 May 356/2 A variety of the African Lily, in which the leaves are marked longitudinally with stripes of yellow. |
c. Used in all versions of the Bible to render
Heb. shūshan, shōshan, shōshannā{suph}, LXX and NT. κρίνον.
The
Heb. words were
prob. used, as the corresponding
Arab. sūsan still is in Palestine, for all the conspicuous species of lily, lotus (
Nymphæa Lotus), anemone, ranunculus, tulip, etc. In Cant. v. 13 a red flower appears to be meant. The ‘lilies of the field’ of
Matt. vi. 28 have been variously identified with the red
Anemone coronaria and with the scarlet Martagon or Turk's Cap lily, both of which are common in Galilee. The herbalists of the 16–17th c. took ‘the lily among the thorns’ (
lilium inter spinas) of Cant. ii. 2 to be the honeysuckle: see Coles
Art of Simpling (1656) 7.
2. lily of (or † in) the valley (
† lily convally,
convall lily,
† May lily,
† great park lily, or
† wood lily), a beautiful spring flower,
Convallaria majalis, having two largish leaves and racemes of white, bell-shaped, fragrant flowers.
The name
lily of the valley represents the Vulgate
lilium convallium, a literal translation from the
Heb. of Cant. ii. i. The application to this particular plant is
app. due to the German herbalists of the early 16th c.
| 1538 Turner Libellus, Ephimeron est lilium conuallium grandius, quod angli uocant Great parke lyly. 1548 ― Names of Herbes 35 The Poticaries in Germany do name it Lilium conuallium; it maye be called in englishe May Lilies. 1563 T. Hill Art Garden. (1593) 98 The wood Lillie or Lillie of the valley, is a flour merualous sweete. 1579, etc. [see convally]. 1597 Gerard Herbal ii. lxxxvii. 331 Of Lilly in the valley, or May Lillie. 1728–46 Thomson Spring 444 Where scatter'd wild the lily of the vale Its balmy essence breathes. 1729 [see lily-bell in 6]. 1814 Wordsw. Excursion ix, That shy plant..the lily of the vale, That loves the ground. 1840 Hood Up Rhine 221 A wreath of artificial lilies-of-the-valley on her head. |
b. lily-of-the-valley tree (see
quot.).
| 1885 A. Brassey The Trades 30 The beautiful lily-of-the-valley tree (Clethra arborea) which bears branches of white flowers, like five or six sprays of lilies-of-the-valley growing from one stalk, and emitting the most delicious scent. |
c. The scent of lily of the valley,
esp. as used in cosmetics, etc.
| 1890–91 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall & Winter 42/2 Morse's perfumes..new-mown hay, lily of the valley, 25c. per bottle. 1970 Guardian 12 May 9/3 This..sprightly fragrance with..notes of carnation,..lily-of-the-valley and roses. |
3. fig. a. Applied to persons or things of exceptional whiteness, fairness, or purity;
e.g. a fair lady; the white of a beautiful complexion (
sing. and pl.;
cf. rose).
| c 1386 Chaucer Sec. Nun's T. 87 The name of seinte Cecile..It is to seye in englissh heuenes lilie, For pure chastnesse of virginitee. c 1440 York Myst. xxv. 520 [To Jesus] Hayll! lylly lufsome lemyd with lyght! 1498 Alcock Mons Perfect. a ii b, The beuteous lylyes of chastyte in body and soule. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. v. 62 A Virgin, A most vnspotted Lilly. 1622 Wither Fair Virtue D 7 b, The Lillies oft obtaine Greatest sway, vnlesse a blush Helpe the Roses at a push. 1713 Steele Guardian No. 174 ¶5 The gamester-ladies..wear away their lilies and roses in tedious watching. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 1388 Farewell, fair lily. |
b. Used as a term of abuse,
esp. of a man to imply lack of masculinity.
| 1923 G. Saintsbury Second Scrap Bk. v. 39 But in order once more to consider and console that lily, the Educational Expert, let us turn to ‘grind’. 1929 Hostetter & Beesley It's a Racket! 231 Lily, an easy victim, exceptionally gullible person. 1930 D. H. Lawrence Nettles 19 And Mr. Mead, that old old lily Said: ‘Gross! coarse! hideous!’ 1933 S. Spender Poems 28 Here the pale lily boys flaunt their bright lips. 1958 J. Raymond England's on Anvil! 142 In this he differed from men like William (‘Cory’) Johnson, Oscar Browning, A. C. Benson and the rest of the Eton-and-King's lilies who were such a lush feature of the period. |
4. A figure or representation of the flower.
a. gen.| 1459 in Paston Lett. I. 478, j. pellow of silk the growund white wyth lyllys of blewe. 1464 Ibid. III. 433 Item, one box of silver..chased with liliis. a 1586 Sidney Arcadia iii. (1629) 260 Pamela..was working vpon a purse certaine roses & lillies. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 134 He eiket to the circle of the croune four lillies of golde w{supt} four goldne signes of the croce. 1714 Gay Sheph. Week v. 60 Sometimes, like Wax, she rolls the Butter round, Or with the wooden Lilly prints the Pound. |
b. The heraldic fleur-de-lis,
esp. with reference to the arms of the old French monarchy (also
golden lilies); hence, the royal arms of France, the French (Bourbon) dynasty.
| a 1352 Minot Poems x. 3 Both þe lely and þe lipard suld gader on a grene. [See note, ed. J. Hall.] 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (1858) II. 357 In thair armes to weir the reid lillie, Quhilk hes bene ay the king of Frances flour. 1660 Dryden Astræa Redux 18 We sighed to hear the fair Iberian bride [the Infanta Maria Theresa] Must grow a lily to the Lily's side. 1738 F. Wise Let. conc. Antiq. Berks 27 The Emperor of Germany is sometimes stiled The Eagle, and the King of France The Lilly, from the Arms they bear. 1769 Gray Ode for Music iv. 39 Great Edward, with the lilies on his brow From haughty Gallia torn. 1815 J. Scott Vis. Paris (ed. 2) 48 [A Frenchman—faithful adherent of the Bourbons], took the strangers home to his small cottage, to talk fondly of the reviving lilies. 1843 Macaulay Ivry iv, Fair gentlemen of France, Charge for the golden lilies. |
† c. The fleur-de-lis which is used to mark the north on a compass.
Obs.| 1613 M. Ridley Magn. Bodies 12 The Lilly of their compasses was turned alwaies towards the North-pole. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. ii. ii. 60 If wee place a Needle touched at the foote of tongues or andirons it will obvert..its lyllie or North point. 1661 Philipott Disc. Navig. in Harl. Misc. (1744) II. 328 But, sailing farther, it veers its Lilly towards the West. |
d. pl. The bound feet of Chinese women, in allusion to their Chinese designation
kin-leen ‘golden water-lilies’. Also (in
sing.)
attrib. So
lily-footed a.| 1841 W. B. Langdon Descr. Catal. Chinese Collection in Philadelphia 15 The footstools upon which their ‘golden lilies’ rest, are covered with embroidered silk. 1886 C. M. Yonge Chantry House II. xx. 188 Is he going to wed a fair Chinese with lily feet? 1922 W. S. Maugham On Chinese Screen xviii. 72 They rest there for a while on their small feet, their golden lilies, gossiping elegantly. 1933 N. Waln House of Exile i. i. 26 We could not walk, as..Mai-da's mother..had ‘lily’ feet. 1937 E. Snow Red Star over China i. ii. 26 Yang Hu-Cheng..was a two-wife man. The first was the lily-footed wife of his youth. |
5. Phr. to
paint (or to gild) the lily: to embellish excessively, to add ornament where none is needed.
| 1595 Shakes. John iv. ii. 11 To gilde refined Gold, to paint the Lilly; To throw a perfume on the Violet,..Is wastefull, and ridiculous excesse. 1919 H. Jenkins John Dene of Toronto vii. 113 ‘Where's Finlay?’ asked Colonel Walton. ‘He's painting the lily... Seeing how near he can get to this Bergen fellow.’ 1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 28 Sept. 243/3 Nature and history have already been so kind to that ancient and charming townlet on the Dart that improvement would be a gilding of the lily. 1935 J. Buchan House of Four Winds 22 It's rather like painting the lily, you know. 1953 Manch. Guardian Weekly 19 Feb. 13/2 While it may seem to be painting the lily, I should like to add somewhat to Mr Alistair Cooke's excellent article. 1958 J. Raymond England's on Anvil! 15 In Englishing the passage, Peter Motteux..contrives at once splendidly to gild the lily and tone down the anti-Protestantism. 1968 Encycl. Brit. XII. 842/1 The favourite technique of decoration of Mogul jades is insetting with gold and precious stones..an example of painting the lily that would hardly have commended itself to the Chinese jade carver. |
6. attrib. and
Comb.: simple
attrib., as
lily-avenue,
lily-bank,
lily-bed,
lily-bloom,
lily-bud,
lily-bulb,
† lily crop,
lily-crown,
lily family,
lily-garth,
lily group,
lily-honey,
lily-root,
lily shade; similative, as
lily-clear,
lily-coloured,
lily-green,
lily-scented,
lily-shaped,
lily-shining,
lily-sweet,
lily-whitening,
lily-yellow adjs.;
lily-like adj. and
adv.; instrumental and locative, as
lily-cradled,
lily-crowned,
lily-paved,
lily-paven,
lily-robed,
lily-silvered,
lily-strangled adjs. Special combs.:
lily-beetle, the beetle
Crioceris merdigera, parasitic on lilies;
lily-bell,
lily cup, the flower of the lily-of-the-valley;
lily-encrinite, an encrinite resembling a lily in shape;
lily-iron, a harpoon having a detachable head used in killing sword-fish;
lily-pad orig. U.S., the broad flat leaf of a water-lily as it lies on the water;
lily-pond, a pond in which water-lilies are grown;
lily-star, (
a)
= feather-star, a crinoid of the family Comatulidæ; (
b) the star-like flower of the water-lily;
lily-trotter, a water-bird of the family Jacanidæ,
esp. Actophilornis africana, found in tropical Africa, or
Microparra capensis, the lesser lily-trotter, found in east Africa; also
= jacana;
† lily-water, a ‘water’ distilled from lilies;
lily-work, architectural decoration containing designs of lilies. Also
lily-flower,
lily-pot,
lily-white.
| 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 162 A *lily-avenue climbing to the doors. |
| 1723 Ramsay Fair Assembly x, Like *lily-banks see how they rise. |
| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 13 Where I may wallow in the *Lily beds Propos'd for the deseruer. |
| 1854 A. Adams, etc. Man. Nat. Hist. 204 *Lily-Beetles (Crioceridæ). |
| 1729 T. Cooke Tales, Proposals, &c. 82 The Poet..To render his Melissa vain, Calls her the Lilly of the Vale..The Tears, with which her Eyelids swell, Are Dewdrops on the *Lillybell. 1854 F. Tennyson Days & Hours 87 Some lilybells Pluckt ere the flush of dawn. |
| 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 84 White *lily-blooms. |
| 1877 Bryant Poems, Sella 344 She laid The light-brown tresses smooth, and in them twined The *lily-buds. |
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. iii. 538 Now *lilly bulbes sowe Or sette. |
| 1850 Mrs. Browning Poems II. 309 Her face is *lily-clear—Lily-shaped. |
| c 1866 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1918) 9 *Lily-coloured clothes provide Your spouse not laboured-at nor spun. 1875 Browning Inn Album ii. 72 My big and bony, here, against the bunch Of lily-coloured five with signet-ring. |
| 1832 Tennyson Œnone 29 The golden bee Is *lily-cradled. |
| 1390 Gower Conf. III. 249 The *lilie croppes on and on..He smot of. |
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Peter) 708 His angelis..with *lely and rose-cronis in hand. |
| 1746 J. Warton Ode to Fancy 55 Nodding their *lilly-crowned heads. |
| 1826 Hood ‘I remember’ 11 The violets and the *lily-cups, Those flowers made of light. |
| 1808 Parkinson Organic Rem. II. 174 The *Lily Encrinite [described]. |
| 1570 Levins Manip. 34/13 Y⊇ *Lilygarth, lilietum. |
| 1739 tr. Art of Painting in Miniature (ed. 4) 13 *Lilly-Green, Sap-Green, and Gamboge..must be temper'd with fair Water only. 1965 S. Gibbons in J. Gibb Light on C. S. Lewis v. 87 Here she was, the right descendant of Grendel, with her lily-green complexion. |
| 1658 Rowland Moufet's Theat. Ins. 908 It takes the name of Grasse-honey,..*Lilly-honey, Violet-honey, &c., respect being had to those things from which it is collected. |
| 1852 M. H. Perley Rep. Fisheries New Brunswick (ed. 2) 187 They [sword-fish] are captured by means of an instrument called a ‘*lily-iron’, from the form of its shaft, or wings, which resemble the leaves of a lily. 1883 Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 195 Sword-fish lily-irons and lances and harpoons. |
| 1652 Kirkman Clerio & Lozia 23 That Rose and *Lilly-like colour mingled together. 1847 Tennyson Princess iv. 143 The lilylike Melissa droop'd her brows. |
| 1843 Knickerbocker XXII. 1 Huge moccasin darting away beneath the dense reeds and *lily-pads of the swamp. 1868 Lowell Willows Poet. Wks. (1879) 373/2 A pike lurks balanced 'neath the lily-pads. 1875 J. G. Holland Sevenoaks v. 65 A deer, feeding among the lily-pads. 1888 Nation (N.Y.) 19 July 57/2 The trout breaking at the edge of the lily-pads. 1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) 2 Shallow blue water from which the great white paper⁓barks tower shadowing the lily-pads. 1958 G. Durrell Encounters with Animals i. 38, I had watched her standing on the lily-pads. |
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. i. Eden 531 By some cleer River's *lilly-paved side. |
| 1822 Shelley Tri. Life 368 O'er *lily-paven lakes. |
| 1901 G. Jekyll Wall & Water Gardens xx. 161 Such a scene as Mr. Robinson's *Lily pond in North Sussex..could scarcely be bettered. 1974 R. Harris Double Snare iv. 27 From the direction of the lily pond comes the croak of little frogs. |
| c 1450 ME. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 211 Tak *lylie rote. |
| 1796 Coleridge Poems 18 Summer's *lily-scented plume. 1869 Browning Ring & Bk. III. vii. 50 The sword I wear shall pink His lily-scented cassock through and through. 1936 R. Campbell Mithraic Emblems 31 Out of a wound that never heals Rills forth the lily-scented blood. |
| 1650 H. Vaughan Silex Scint., Relapse 25 Sweet downie thoughts, soft *lilly-shades, calm streams. |
| 1821 J. S. Miller (title) A Natural History of the Crinoidea, or *Lily-shaped Animals. |
| 1847 Tennyson Princess iv. 268 Half-naked..lay The *lily-shining child. |
| 1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 303 To Isles of fragrance, *lily-silver'd vales. |
| 1854 A. Adams, etc. Man. Nat. Hist. 334 Pedunculated *Lily-stars (Pentacrinitidæ). 1863 Woolner My Beautiful Lady 121 Mid splashing waters, sedge, and lily stars. |
| 1887 Browning Parleyings Wks. 1896 II. 722/1 Some *lily-strangled pool. |
| 1931 V. Woolf Waves 290 Let us commit any blasphemy of laughter and criticism rather than exude this *lily-sweet glue. |
| 1920 Blackw. Mag. May 649/2 The busy *lily trotter, hurrying across the broad flat water-lily leaves. 1951 R. Campbell Light on Dark Horse 82 Those strange little birds, the lily-trotters. 1958 G. Durrell Encounters with Animals i. 35 It is with the aid of these long toes and the even distribution of weight that they give that the jacana manages to walk across water, using the water-lily leaves and other water-plants as its path⁓ways. It has thus earned its name of lily-trotter. 1971 Country Life 30 Sept. 830/1 The lakes [in Tanzania] give you close views of ibises, egrets,..lily trotters. |
| 1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 254/1 Take *Lillyewater, Rosewater, and water of Mayflowers. a 1743 Savage Employm. of Beauty 44 The well-rang'd teeth in lily-whitening rows. |
| 1611 Bible 1 Kings vii. 19 The chapiters..were of *lillie worke in the porch. |
| c 1865 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1948) 123 *Lily-yellow is the west. |
b. In plant-names (of little currency):
lily asphodel,
daffodil, names for the genus
Amaryllis;
lily-bind,
-bine dial., bindweed;
† lily-grass, Gerarde's name for an aquatic species of corn-flag (
Gladiolus);
lily hyacinth,
† jacinth, the genus
Scilla,
esp. S. Liliohyacinthus;
† lily leek, Gerarde's name for
moly1;
† lily narcissus, a proposed name for the tulip;
lily pink, the genus
Aphyllanthes;
lily thorn, the genus
Catesbæa;
lilyworts, Lindley's name for the family Liliaceæ.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Lilio-asphodelus... The common yellow flowered *lilly-asphodel. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 317 Lily Asphodel, Amaryllis. |
| 1828 Miss Mitford Village Ser. iii. 244 Snow-white *lily-bines, and light fragile hare-bells. |
| 1733 Miller Gard. Dict., Lilio-narcissus (is so called, because it resembles both these Plants), *Lily-Daffodil. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 317 Lily Daffodil, Amaryllis. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. xxi. 27 Water Gladiole..hath on the top of every rushie stalke a fine vmble..of small flowers, in fashion of the Lillie of Alexandria, the which it is very like, and therefore I had rather call it *Lillie grasse. |
| Ibid. lxx. 97 Hyacinthus stellatus Lilifolius, *Lillie Iacinth. |
| Ibid. 98 The *Lillie Hyacinth is called Hyacinthus Germanicus liliflorus, or Germanie Hyacinth, taken from the countrie where it naturally groweth wilde. |
| Ibid. Table Eng. Names, *Lillie Leeke, that is Moly. |
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. lii. 213 The greater is called both Tulpia, and Tulpian, and of some Tulipa,..we may call it *Lillynarcissus. |
| 1848 Craig s.v., *Lily pink, the plant Aphyllanthes monspeliensis. |
| 1816–20 Green Univ. Herbal I. 267/2 Catesbæa Spinosa; *Lily Thorn... Discovered near Nassau Town in Providence. |
| 1845 Lindley Sch. Bot. 135 Liliaceæ― *Lilyworts. |
B. as
adj. a. White or fair as a lily; lily-white; lily-like. Also in parasynthetic comb., as
lily-cheeked,
lily-fingered,
lily-handed,
lily-wristed adjs.| 15.. Crt. of Love 781 And lily forhede had this creature. a 1553 Udall Royster D. iv. vii. (Arb.) 72 It shall be euen so, by his lily woundes. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 6 He..lickt her lilly hands with fawning tong. 1590 Greene Neuer too Late (1600) 31 Lilly cheekes whereon beside Buds of roses shew their pride. c 1590 ― Fr. Bacon i. (1630) A 3, She turn'd her smocke ouer her lilly armes. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 160 The ayre hath..pinch'd the lilly-tincture of her face. a 1618 Sylvester Sonn. xxii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 325/2 Thy brow..Fairer then snow, or the most lilly thing. 1648 Herrick Hesper., Country Life 246 The lilly-wristed morne. 1649 Dryden On Death Ld. Hastings 58 Blisters..Like rosebuds, stuck in the lily-skin about. 1720 Gay Sweet William's Farew. 48 Adieu, she cries! and wav'd her lilly hand. a 1810 Surtees Barthram's Dirge v, They rowed him in a lily-sheet, And bare him to his earth. 1847 Tennyson Princess Concl. 84 No little lily-handed Baronet he. 1859 ― Elaine 2 Elaine, the lily maid of Astolat. 1873 Black Pr. Thule v. 69 He was no mere lily-fingered idler about town. 1877 Bryant Poems, Little People of Snow 110 She saw a little creature, lily-cheeked. |
b. Pale, pallid, colourless, bloodless;
lily-livered a., white-livered, cowardly; so
lily-liver, a ‘lily-livered’ person;
lily-liveredly adv.| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 337 These Lilly Lips, this cherry nose, These yellow Cowslip cheekes. 1605 ― Macb. v. iii. 15 Go pricke thy face, and ouer-red thy feare, Thou Lilly-liuer'd Boy. 1805 J. Baillie Rayner i. i. 9 That plain word Still makes Sebastian, like a squeamish dame, Shrink and look lily-fac'd. 1857 Trollope Barchester T. xiv, Surely..you will not be so lily-livered as to fall into this trap which he has baited for you. 1860 Thackeray Round. Papers xii. (1869) 130 When people were yet afraid of me..I always knew that I was a lily-liver. 1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 48 It's either you fight or you die, Die, die, lily-liveredly die. 1934 Dylan Thomas Let. 14 Jan. (1966) 92 As the black man must have first regarded the features of his lily-faced brother. |
Hence
ˈlilyfy v. trans., to make lily-like.
| 1866 Reade Griff. Gaunt (1887) 109 The full moon's silvery beams shone on her rose-like cheeks and lilyfied them. |