Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

royal water lily

noun

Definition of royal water lily

1 : a South American water lily (Victoria amazonia) with large circular leaves

— called also Amazon water lily, giant water lily

2 : a lily (Victoria cruziana) of Paraguay that is closely related to the royal water lily for which it is often substituted in the horticultural trade and has flowers which turn pinkish red

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

  • More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
  • Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
  • Advanced search features
  • Ad free!

First Known Use of royal water lily

circa 1849, in the meaning defined above

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about royal water lily

Statistics for royal water lily

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for royal water lily

The first known use of royal water lily was circa 1849

See more words from the same year

Comments on royal water lily

What made you want to look up royal water lily? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Show Comments  Hide Comments 

WORD OF THE DAY

propitious

Listen to the pronounciation of propitious

likely to have or produce good results

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Words from Greek and Latin Quiz

  • roman forum
  • Which of the following months comes from a Latin word for “ten”?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games