French word

lys

Pronunciation

IPA/lis/

Meaning

  • masculine nounlily

Example

Elle a planté des lys dans le jardin.

She planted lilies in the garden.

Illustration for lys (lily)

More examples

Il a reçu un bouquet de lys pour son anniversaire.

He received a bouquet of lilies for his birthday.

Core concept

A tall lily with broad, trumpet-shaped blooms that can also appear as a stylized emblem.

Common phrases

  • bouquet de lys

    bouquet of lilies

  • tige de lys

    lily stem

Similar words

lis: The everyday spelling commonly used for the lily plant.
fleur: The colored and shaped part produced by a plant.
rose: An ornamental flower with many overlapping petals, often pleasantly fragrant.
tulipe: A spring-blooming ornamental flower with a cup-shaped form.

Definition in French

Plante du genre Lilium, à grandes fleurs souvent en trompette, cultivée comme plante ornementale et coupée; le terme s'emploie aussi en contexte héraldique pour désigner la fleur stylisée.

Word origin

The French noun lys comes from Latin lilium through Old French forms such as lis, with the spelling lys retained especially in heraldic language.

Usage tips

  • The noun lys is masculine, so the usual article is un lys despite the word naming a flower.

Word lists with this word