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mar·i·po·sa lily

(măr′ə-pōzə, -sə)

Any of several bulbous plants of the genus Calochortus of western North America, having variously colored, tuliplike flowers. Also called mariposa tulip.

[Probably from American Spanish mariposa, from Spanish, butterfly, from María pósate, Mary alight!, María, Mary + pósate, second person sing. reflexive imperative of posar, to perch (from Late Latin pausāre, to pause, from Latin pausa, pause).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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