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''lily of the valley'' ▫ᴱᴺ Entries

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''lily of the valley'' ▫ᴱᴺ｜Definition｜1st｜20260125204041-00-⌔

lily of the valley - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Noun

lily of the valley (plural lilies of the valley)

  • A flowering plant, Convallaria majalis, with richly fragrant pendant bells.
    • ✤ Oh, what a perfect thought. Lilies-of-the-valley, and white pansies, double white violets and white velvet ribbon… From an unknown friend. … From one who understands. … For a Little Girl.1
  • A flower of this plant.
    • ✤ The aroma given off by flowers has an aphrodisiac effect, especially on women. This is so particularly in the case of lilies of the valley, gardenia, frangipani, and henna.2

Etymology

Calque of Biblical Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים (šôšannat hāʿămāqîm), a reference to Song of Solomon 2:1.3

Pronunciation

  • Audio (Southern England): 🔊

Printed 2026-06-28.

(echo:: @ ⌗)

Footnotes

  1. 1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Revelations”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 271: ↩

  2. 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 98: ↩

  3. The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], 1611, →OCLC, Song of Solomon 2:1: “I Am the rose of Sharon, and the lillie of the valleys.” ↩

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Secondary

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