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.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

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.

2. A flower of this plant.
   • 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 98:

     The aroma given off by flowers has an aphrodisiac effect, especially on women. This is so particularly in the case of lilies of the valley, gardenia, frangipani, and henna.

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, konvalo (eo)
• Estonian: maikelluke, piibeleht
• Finnish: kielo (fi)
• French: muguet (fr) m
• Georgian: შროშანა (šrošana)
• German: Maiglöckchen (de) n
• Hungarian: gyöngyvirág (hu)
• Icelandic: dalalilja f
• Ingrian: lehmänkeeli
• Irish: lile na ngleanntán f
• Italian: mughetto (it) m
• Japanese: 鈴蘭 (ja) (スズラン, suzuran)
• Kabardian: къэлэрдэгу (kbd) (qɛlɛrdɛgʷu)
• Kazakh: меруертгүл (meruertgül)
• Korean: 은방울꽃 (eunbang'ulkkot)
• Lak: марияннул макь (mariaˤnnul maqʼ)
• Latvian: maijpuķīte (lv) f, kreimene f
• Lithuanian: pakalnutė (lt) f
• Macedonian: мо́мина со́лза f (mómina sólza), ѓурѓо́вденче n (ǵurǵóvdenče)
• Norman: mudget m (Guernsey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: liljekonvall (no) m

  Nynorsk: liljekonvall m

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

  Cyrillic: ђурђевак (sh) m

  Latin: 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)

  Ottoman Turkish: اینجو چیچكی (inci çiçeği)

• Ukrainian: конва́лія f (konválija)
• Volapük: mügät (vo)
• Welsh: lili'r dyffrynnoedd f