orchisses

English

Noun

orchisses

1. (archaic) plural of orchis
   • 1653, Henry More, “The Seeds and Signatures of Plants, arguments of a divine Providence”, in An Antidote against Atheisme, or An Appeal to the Natural Faculties of the Minde of Man, whether There Be Not a God, London: […] Roger Daniel, […], →OCLC, book I, page 67:

     As alſo your ſeverall ſorts of Satyrions which have the evident reſemblance of the genitall parts upon them: Aron eſpecially, and all your Orchiſſes, that they have given names unto from ſome beaſts or other, as Cynoſorchis, Orchis Myodes, Tragorchis and the like.

   • 1774, James Gordon, “Appendix”, in The Planters, Florists, and Gardeners Pocket Dictionary; Being a Practical Collection from the Most Approved Authors in the English Language, […], Edinburgh: […] [T]he Author, page 55, column 1:

     Radix Testiculata, a teſticulated root, is a double tuberous root; for it conſiſts of two knobs, reſembling a pair of teſticles; of this ſort are ſome of the Orchiſſes.

   • 1792, Charlotte Smith, “Letter XIV. To Miss Waverly.”, in Desmond. […], volume II, London: […] G[eorge,] G[eorge,] J[ohn] and J[ames] Robinson, […], →OCLC, page 195:

     Fortunately it is a ſeaſon when he is eaſily amuſed—I ſend him out with his ſiſter and his maid into the ſurrounding meadows, where, after their maid has dreſſed their hats with cowſlips, orchiſſes, cuckoo-flowers, and golden-cups—my Harriet brings home her lap full of theſe “gay children of the May,” and, in her imperfect language, ſays, they are for “dear mama.”

   • 1799, “Addenda”, in [Thomas West], A Guide to the Lakes, in Cumberland, Westmorland, and Lancashire, 7th edition, London: […] W. J. and J. Richardson, […], page 265:

     The ſoil on the baſe and ſides of Ingleborough (where there is any) is chiefly peatmoſs which the country people get up and burn for fuel: the cover is in general ling or heath: other vegetables are ferns of various kinds; reindeer moſs, and various other moſſes; heleborines, white and red; the different ſorts of ſeedums; crane’s bills, ſcurvy graſs, bird’s eyes, various liver-worts, orchiſſes, roſe-wort, lily of the valley, mountain columbines; the hurtle-berry or bill-berry, knout-berry, cran-berry, cloud-berry, and cow-berry.

   • 1807, Richard Anthony Salisbury, The Paradisus Londinensis: Containing Plants Cultivated in the Vicinity of the Metropolis, volume II, part I, London: […] William Savage, […] William Hooker, […]:

     Curcuma may easily be distinguished by its two-spurred anther, not very unlike that of some Orchisses: […]

   • 1833, General Observations on Vegetation; Translated from the French of C. F. Brisseau-Mirbel; to Which Are Added, Numerous and Extensive Notes: […], London: John Relfe, […], pages 11–12:

     All the trees of this country, and much the greatest part of those of Europe, are of this class, with most of those of the herbaceous species, with the only exception, perhaps, of the grasses, the sedges, the flags and rushes, the orchisses, and all the bulbous rooted plants, as they are generally called.

   • 1837, J[ohn] R[amsay] M^cCulloch, assisted by numerous contributors, A Statistical Account of the British Empire: Exhibiting Its Extent, Physical Capacities, Population, Industry, and Civil and Religious Institutions, volume I, London: […] Charles Knight and Co., page 123:

     Several of our orchisses yield salep in their roots.

   • 1841, Henry Swinburne, edited by Charles [Ignatius] White, The Courts of Europe at the Close of the Last Century, volume II, London: Henry Colburn, […], pages 243–244:

     I have found in my perambulations many curious orchisses, and other beautiful wild flowers; […]

   • 1842, The Quarterly Review, volume LXX, London: John Murray, […], page 217:

     What mimickry is there in the orchisses, and the hare’s-foot fern, and the Tartarian lamb (Polypodium Baronyetz)!