What does tulip mean?
A tulip is a bulbous spring-blooming garden plant whose flowers are known for their smooth, often cup-shaped petals and their striking range of colors. The word can refer either to the complete plant or simply to its flower, although it most often denotes the flower in ordinary use. Tulips are widely grown in borders, flowerbeds, containers, and cut-flower arrangements, and their bulbs are planted in autumn for flowering the following spring. The name is strongly associated with the Netherlands because Dutch growers and merchants played a major role in developing and popularizing elaborate tulip varieties. Tulips also carry associations with elegance, seasonal renewal, and conspicuous beauty. Their cultural history includes tulip mania, the speculative frenzy of the seventeenth century in which the contracts for certain rare bulbs rose dramatically in value. Today, tulips remain among the most familiar ornamental flowers and are featured prominently in gardens and floral displays throughout Britain and the United States.
nounA bulbous, spring-flowering plant of the lily family, cultivated for its showy, often cup-shaped flowers in a wide range of colors. The word may denote the whole plant or its flower.
- A bulbous garden plant belonging to the lily family, grown from a bulb and typically blooming in spring.
- The showy flower of this plant, which may be single or double and occurs in numerous cultivated colors and forms.
"A row of red tulips brightened the garden after the last frost."
"She planted purple tulips in a container beneath the kitchen window."
"The florist's display featured white tulips arranged in a tall glass vase."
The regular plural is used for both individual plants and individual flowers.
"These tulips need another week before they open."
During the seventeenth-century tulip mania, rare Dutch tulip bulbs became speculative commodities whose prices briefly soared.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does tulip come from?
English borrowed the word in the early sixteenth century from Turkish tülbend, a term ultimately derived from Persian turband, meaning a turban or headcloth. The flower's name arose because its closed or folded bud was thought to resemble a wrapped turban. The related English word turban preserves the same ultimate Persian source, while tulip came to refer to the flower itself.
Related word forms
How tulip is actually used
The term is neutral and is used in both formal horticultural writing and ordinary conversation. In botanical contexts it usually denotes the plant, while in general and decorative contexts it often refers specifically to the flower.
Easily confused with tulip
A tulip is a spring-blooming garden flower, whereas the tulip tree is a large deciduous tree whose leaves have a distinctive tulip-shaped outline.