Daffodil
adj, name, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A bulbous plant of the genus Narcissus, with yellow flowers and a trumpet shaped corona, especially Narcissus pseudonarcissus, the national flower of Wales. countable
"When daffadils begin to peere, / With heigh the Doxy ouer the dale, / Why then comes in the ſweet o’ the yeere, / For the red blood raigns in yͤ winters pale."
- 2 any of numerous varieties of Narcissus plants having showy often yellow flowers with a trumpet-shaped central crown wordnet
- 3 A brilliant yellow color, like that of a daffodil. countable, uncountable
"Where ships of purple gently toss / On seas of daffodil, / Fantastic sailors mingle, / And then—the wharf is still."
- 1 Of a brilliant yellow color, like that of a daffodil.
- 1 A female given name from English. rare
""Pansy would be his wife," Delia guessed. "Yes, and the baby's name is Daffodil, can you believe it?" "There's a baby?" "And it wasn't even a springtime baby! It was born in October!""
Example
More examples"Daffodils are a common cause of dermatitis amongst florists, with daffodil sap provoking symptoms such as redness and dry, scaly skin."
Etymology
Variant of Middle English affodill (“ramson”), from Medieval Latin affodillus, from Latin asphodelus, from Ancient Greek ἀσφόδελος (asphódelos), of Pre-Greek origin. The initial d- is perhaps from merging of the article in Dutch de affodil, the Netherlands being a source for bulbs (compare adder, apron, newt, nickname, orange and umpire for this rebracketing process). Doublet of asphodel.
From the daffodil flower, used since the end of the 19th century.
Related phrases
More for "daffodil"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.