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asphodel
asphodel , name for plants of several genera of the family Lilaceae ( lily family). The true asphodels belong to two small and very similar genera ( Asphodelus and Asphodeline ) of the Mediterranean region and India. The showy flower spike of the former is usually white; of the latter, yellow. Both are stemless, hardy herbs. The asphodel (or king's spear) of the ancients, sacred to Persephone and associated with the fields of the dead, was Asphodeline lutea; the asphodel of the early French and English poets was a narcissus. The false asphodel is Tofieldia, represented in North America by T. glutinosa and a few other species. The turkeybeard ( Xerophyllum asphodeloides ) of the Atlantic coastal plains is also called mountain asphodel. Asphodels are classified in the division Magnoliophyta , class Liliopsida, order Liliales, family Liliaceae. |
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"asphodel." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "asphodel." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-asphodel.html "asphodel." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-asphodel.html |
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asphodel
as·pho·del / ˈasfəˌdel/ • n. 1. a Eurasian plant (genera Asphodelus and Asphodeline) of the lily family, typically having long slender leaves and flowers borne on a spike. See also bog asphodel. 2. poetic/lit. an immortal flower said to grow in the Elysian fields. |
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"asphodel." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "asphodel." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-asphodel.html "asphodel." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-asphodel.html |
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asphodel
asphodel an everlasting flower said to grow in the Elysian fields. The name is recorded from late Middle English and comes via Latin from the Greek base of daffodil.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "asphodel." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "asphodel." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-asphodel.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "asphodel." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-asphodel.html |
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asphodel
asphodel liliaceous plant. XVI. — L. asphodelus — Gr. asphódelos. See DAFFODIL.
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T. F. HOAD. "asphodel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "asphodel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-asphodel.html T. F. HOAD. "asphodel." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-asphodel.html |
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asphodel
asphodel
•Adele, Aix-la-Chapelle, aquarelle, artel, au naturel, bagatelle, béchamel, befell, bell, belle, boatel, Brunel, Cadell, carousel, cartel, cell, Chanel, chanterelle, clientele, Clonmel, compel, Cornell, crime passionnel, dell, demoiselle, dispel, dwell, el, ell, Estelle, excel, expel, farewell, fell, Fidel, fontanelle, foretell, Gabrielle, gazelle, gel, Giselle, hell, hotel, impel, knell, lapel, mademoiselle, maître d'hôtel, Manuel, marcel, matériel, mesdemoiselles, Michel, Michelle, Miguel, misspell, morel, moschatel, Moselle, motel, muscatel, nacelle, Nell, Nobel, Noel, organelle, outsell, Parnell, pell-mell, personnel, propel, quell, quenelle, rappel, Raquel, Ravel, rebel, repel, Rochelle, Sahel, sardelle, sell, shell, show-and-tell, smell, Snell, spell, spinel, swell, tell, undersell, vielle, villanelle, well, yell
•Buñuel • Pachelbel • handbell
•barbell • harebell • decibel • doorbell
•cowbell • bluebell • Annabel
•mirabelle • Christabel • Jezebel
•Isabel, Isobel
•nutshell • infidel • asphodel
•zinfandel • Grenfell • Hillel • parallel
•Cozumel • caramel • Fresnel
•pimpernel • pipistrelle • Tricel
•filoselle
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Cite this article
"asphodel." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "asphodel." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-asphodel.html "asphodel." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-asphodel.html |
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