asphodel
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(n)
asphodel
any of various chiefly Mediterranean plants of the genera Asphodeline and Asphodelus having linear leaves and racemes of white or pink or yellow flowers
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Asphodel
(Bot) A general name for a plant of the genus Asphodelus. The asphodels are hardy perennial plants, several species of which are cultivated for the beauty of their flowers.☞ The name is also popularly given to species of other genera. Theasphodel of the early English and French poets was the daffodil. Theasphodel of the Greek poets is supposed to be theNarcissus poeticus . "Pansies, and violets, and asphodel ."
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(n)
asphodel
A name of various species of Asphodelus, a genus of plants, natural order Liliaceæ, natives of southern Europe. The yellow asphodel or king's-spear, A. luteus, is the handsomest and best-known species, though others are sometimes cultivated for ornament. The asphodel of the earlier English and French poets is the daffodil, Narcissus Pseudo-narcissus. In Greek myth the asphodel was the peculiar plant of the dead, its pale blossoms covering the meadows of Hades. It received this attribution, perhaps, because in Greek lands it is a very common weed, plentiful in barren and desert places and about tombs.
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(n)
Asphodel
as′fo-del a kind of lily—in Greek mythology, the peculiar plant of the dead. In Greece they cover the bleakest hillsides with enduring blossom -
(adj)
Asphodel
Elysian
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary L. asphodelus, Gr. . See Daffodil
Sarah Lamb and Johannes Stepanek in Liam Scarlett's "Asphodel Meadows" at the Royal Ballet. nytimes.com
Can the Elysian fields of Asphodel be more beautiful? "The Lowest Rung" by
We observed a number of asphodels growing, and here and there patches of corn land. "The Caravan Route between Egypt and Syria" by
I had buried my romance in a bed of asphodel. "The Picture of Dorian Gray" by
Asphodels on the banks. "The Spirit of Rome" by
The land was Alu, the asphodel meadows of the celestial Nile that wound through the Milky Way. "The Lords of the Ghostland" by
Fairer far the flower-tangled grass of those wood-encircled pastures than any meads of Asphodel. "Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2)" by
Of wild flowers the most common are yellow daisies, poppies, irises, asphodels and ranunculuses. "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 1" by
Where its depths had been were parterres of gems, slopes of asphodel, the gleam and brilliance of the gates of paradise. "The Perfume of Eros: A Fifth Avenue Incident" by
I long to see asphodel. "Mentone, Cairo, and Corfu" by
I thought of the loganstone, and of the frail woman, the stalk of asphodel, who had unhinged it. "Love's Usuries" by
Ah Love! if such there be then it were well
For us to fly his anger: nay, but see
The leaves are stirring: let us watch a-while.
I seem to catch
Celestial breezes, rustling low,
The asphodels,
Where, singing softly ever to and fro,
Moves each fair saint who in Thy presence dwells.
Whose yellow locks with asphodel are twined?
And what of him, who in the battle-day
Dare not look forward, for the foes behind?
And some whose Smoke gave forth a roseate Smell,
And some poor Weeds that told you at a Whiff
How they were made to Give Away, not Sell.
That you haunt the hollow lands,
Where the poor, dead people stray,
Ghostly, pitiful and gray,
Plucking, with their spectral hands,
Scentless blooms of asphodel?
Thyme, and the asphodel blooms, and lulled by Pactolian streamlet,
She of Miletus lay, and beside her an aged satyr
Scratched his ear with his hoof, and playfully mumbled his chestnuts.