lily-white

[ adjective lil-ee-hwahyt, -wahyt; noun lil-ee-hwahyt, -wahyt ]

adjective

1. white as a lily:

   soft lily-white skin.

2. pure; untouched by corruption or imperfection; above reproach:

   He tries to pass himself off as some sort of lily-white saint, but he's not.

3. designating or pertaining to any faction, organization, or group opposing the inclusion of Black people, especially in political or social life.

   Synonyms: unintegrated, discriminatory, segregated

noun

1. a member of a lily-white organization, especially a member of a former faction of the Republican Party in the South opposed to the inclusion of African Americans in the party or in political life in general. Compare black and tan ( def 3 ).

lily-white

adjective

1. of a pure white

   lily-white skin

2. informal.
   pure; irreproachable
3. informal.
   1. discriminating against Black people

      a lily-white club

   2. racially segregated

Word History and Origins

Origin of lily-white¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English lylie-whyt

Example Sentences

Where Hunham’s bitter feud with the school’s administration and Tully’s troubled home life are explored in some detail, we’re left to fill in the blanks ourselves when it comes to the racial dynamic for a Black mother and her late son at a lily white institution, or for the atmosphere in Boston on the eve of its most ferocious battles over school desegregation.

From Los Angeles Times

When an Atlanta radio host referred to the Wisconsin city of Green Bay as “about as lily white as I have ever seen,” Claude Tiller Jr. responded: “The lily on top of the lily.”

From Seattle Times

During one of the breaks, the show’s host refers to Green Bay as “about as lily white as I have ever seen.”

From Seattle Times

The Celtics’ car was in back of the bus and he saw the owner of the gas station come out with a rifle because he wasn’t about to serve gas from his lily white pumps to this group of Black players.

From Seattle Times

"The gown was worn with a lily white chapel length veil featuring hand embroidered names of Blake, Gwen, Kingston, Zuma and Apollo flanked by 2 white roses at the hem of the veil," the Vera Wang Gang captioned its post.

From Fox News