Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
mariposa lily [mar-uh-poh-suh, -zuh] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- any lily of the genus Calochortus, of the western U.S. and Mexico, having tuliplike flowers of various colors.
Origin of mariposa lily 1880–85, Americanism; Spanish mariposa butterfly, moth; so named because blooms were likened to butterfliesAlso called mar·i·po·sa, mariposa tulip. Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Examples from the Web for mariposa Historical Examples of mariposa
Yes, an’ got in a poker game at Mariposa, and didn’t get back for four days.
Joaquin Miller
This is as true of the Mariposa big tree region as of the valley.
Charles Dudley Warner
Mariposa was the first to recover the use of her tongue and limbs.
Marion Harland
Was it a possibility that Marcia, Marcia, might be the heiress of the great Mariposa estate?
Mrs. Wilson Woodrow
The Mariposa drew her brows together in a little puzzled frown.
Mrs. Wilson Woodrow
British Dictionary definitions for mariposa mariposa noun
- any of several liliaceous plants of the genus Calochortus, of the southwestern US and Mexico, having brightly coloured tulip-like flowersAlso called: mariposa lily, mariposa tulip
Word Origin for mariposa C19: from Spanish: butterfly; from the likeness of the blooms to butterflies Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
