Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

orchid

/ˈɔɹ.kɪd/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.30 in modern English

Syllables
or-chid
IPA
/ˈɔɹ.kɪd/
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A plant of the orchid family (Orchidaceae), bearing unusually-shaped flowers of beautiful colours.

noun

A light bluish-red, violet-red or purple colour.

adj

Having a light purple colour.

Etymology

From New Latin Orchideae, Orchidaceae, an irregular formation from Latin orchis, from Ancient Greek ὄρχις (órkhis, “orchid, testicle”) (ostensibly from the shape of the roots). Supplanted Middle English ballokwort (literally “testicle plant”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈɔɹ.kɪd/
  • British English: /ˈɔː.kɪd/

Inflected Forms

orchids (plural)

Derived Forms

macroorchidism monorchid odontoglossum orchidaceous orchidarium orchidectomy orchidelirium orchideous orchidist orchidlike orchidologist orchidology

Phrases

ant orchid bee orchid bird's-nest orchid blue orchid boat orchid bog orchid Brazilian orchid tree bucket orchid

Frequently Paired Words

orchis Cattleya clinandrium coralroot fringed orchis gold bee helleborine labellum

Synonyms

orchidea orchidaceous plant

Questions

How do you pronounce orchid?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɔɹ.kɪd/.
What does orchid mean?
A plant of the orchid family (Orchidaceae), bearing unusually-shaped flowers of beautiful colours.
Where does orchid come from?
It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce orchid

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “orchid”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɔɹ.kɪd/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “orchid”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “orchid” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.