Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Flower-de-luce
Flow′er-de-luce′
,Noun.
[Corrupted fr.
fleur-de-lis
.] (Bot.)
A genus of perennial herbs (
Iris
) with swordlike leaves and large three-petaled flowers often of very gay colors, but probably white in the plant first chosen for the royal French emblem. ☞ There are nearly one hundred species, natives of the north temperate zone. Some of the best known are
Iris Germanica
, I. Florentina
, I. Persica
, I. sambucina
, and the American I. versicolor
, I. prismatica
, etc.