What does "gladiolus" mean?

The center part of the sternum.

What is a synonym for "gladiolus"?

Common synonyms include: sword lily, corpus sternum, glad, gladiola.

Pronounced //ɡlædɪˈəʊləs//.

//ɡlædɪˈəʊləs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The center part of the sternum.
2
the large central part of the breastbone wordnet
3
Any of several flowering plants, of the genus Gladiolus, having sword-shaped leaves and showy flowers on spikes; gladiola.
"Hester Earle and Violet Wayne were moving about the aisle with bundles of wheat-ears and streamers of ivy, for the harvest thanksgiving was shortly to be celebrated, while the vicar stood waiting for their directions on the chancel steps with a great handful of crimson gladioli."
4
any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivated wordnet

"This gladiolus is perennial: it flowers every year without needing any special attention."

From Latin gladiolus (“little sword, sword lily”), diminutive of gladius (“sword”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.