narcissus

play

noun nar·cis·sus \ när-ˈsi-səs \

Definition of narcissus

1 capitalized :a beautiful youth in Greek mythology who pines away for love of his own reflection and is then turned into the narcissus flower

2 plural narcissi play \när-ˈsi-ˌsī, -(ˌ)sē\ or narcissuses or narcissus

[New Latin, genus name, from Latin, narcissus, from Greek narkissos]

:daffodil; especially :one whose flowers have a short corona and are usually borne separately

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Recent Examples of narcissus from the Web

Bulbs: African iris, agapanthus, amaryllis, blackberry lily, bulbine, calla lily, crinum, crocosmia, day lily, gladiolus, kaffir lily, narcissus, society garlic, spider lily, rain lilies and walking iris.

— tom maccubbin, OrlandoSentinel.com, "September in the garden," 26 Aug. 2017
HONG KONG — Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year fairs draw thousands of visitors who stroll past stalls of potted narcissus, snack on fish balls and snap up the latest plush toys.

— alan wong, New York Times, "At Hong Kong New Year Fair, Defiance Gives Way to Resignation," 27 Jan. 2017
If the outdoors isn’t calling you right now, concentrate on paper whites, narcissus and amaryllis.

— suzanne sproul, Orange County Register, "Avid gardeners know there’s still plenty to do in winter," 4 Jan. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'narcissus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.