GLADIOLUS (gladioli)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: gladioli   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does gladiolus mean? 

• GLADIOLUS (noun)
  The noun GLADIOLUS has 2 senses:

1. any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivated

2. the large central part of the breastbone

  Familiarity information: GLADIOLUS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GLADIOLUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of numerous plants of the genus Gladiolus native chiefly to tropical and South Africa having sword-shaped leaves and one-sided spikes of brightly colored funnel-shaped flowers; widely cultivated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting plants

Synonyms:

glad; gladiola; gladiolus; sword lily

Hypernyms ("gladiolus" is a kind of...):

iridaceous plant (any bulbous plant of the family Iridaceae)

Holonyms ("gladiolus" is a member of...):

genus Gladiolus (gladiolas)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The large central part of the breastbone

Classified under:

Nouns denoting body parts

Synonyms:

corpus sternum; gladiolus

Hypernyms ("gladiolus" is a kind of...):

bone; os (rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates)

Holonyms ("gladiolus" is a part of...):

breastbone; sternum (the flat bone that articulates with the clavicles and the first seven pairs of ribs)

 Context examples 

Any bacterial organism that can be assigned to the species Burkholderia gladioli.

(Burkholderia gladioli, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

B. gladioli is found on the gladiolus plant where it is pathogenic, causes vegetation to decay, and is pathogenic to humans.

(Burkholderia gladioli, NCI Thesaurus)