lily of the valley

See also: lily-of-the-valley and Lily of the Valley

English

19th century illustration

Alternative forms

• lily-of-the-valley

Etymology

Calque of Biblical Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים‎ (šôšannat hāʿămāqîm), a reference to Song of Solomon 2:1.

Noun

lily of the valley (plural lilies of the valley)

1. A flowering plant, Convallaria majalis, with richly fragrant pendant bells.
   • 1920, Katherine Mansfield [pseudonym; Kathleen Mansfield Murry], “Revelations”, in Bliss and Other Stories, London: Constable & Company, published 1920, →OCLC, page 271:

     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.

Translations

Convallaria majalis

• Abkhaz: ашәҭрыԥх (aŝʷtrəpx)
• Armenian: հովտաշուշան (hy) (hovtašušan)
• Azerbaijani: inciçiçəyi
• Bulgarian: момина сълза f (momina sǎlza)
• Catalan: muguet (ca) m, lliri de maig m
• Chechen: чӏегӏардиган кӏа (čʼeğardigan kʼa)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鈴蘭／铃兰 (zh) (línglán)

• Czech: konvalinka vonná (cs)
• Dutch: lelietje-van-dalen (nl) n, meiklokje (nl) n
• Esperanto: majfloro
• Estonian: maikelluke, piibeleht
• Finnish: kielo (fi)
• French: muguet (fr) m
• Georgian: შროშანა (šrošana)
• German: Maiglöckchen (de) n
• Hungarian: gyöngyvirág (hu)
• Icelandic: dalalilja f
• Irish: lile na ngleanntán f
• Italian: mughetto (it) m
• Japanese: 鈴蘭 (ja) (スズラン, suzuran)
• Kabardian: къэлэрдэгу (qelerdegʷu)
• Kazakh: меруертгүл (meruertgül)
• Korean: 은방울꽃 (eunbang'ulkkot)
• Lak: марияннул макь (mariaˤnnul maqʼ)
• Lithuanian: pakalnutė (lt) f
• Macedonian: мо́мина со́лза f (mómina sólza)
• Norman: mudget m (Guernsey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: liljekonvall (no) m

• Ossetian: джыджына (ǵyǵyna)
• Polish: konwalia (pl) f
• Portuguese: lírio-do-vale m
• Romanian: lăcrimioară (ro) f
• Russian: ла́ндыш (ru) m (lándyš)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ђурђевак m

  Roman: đurđevak (sh) m, đurđica (sh) f

• Slovak: konvalinka voňavá
• Spanish: lirio del valle m
• Swedish: liljekonvalj (sv)
• Tajik: ливондар (tg) (livondar)
• Turkish: inci çiçeği (tr), müge (tr)
• Volapük: mügät (vo)