trillium

American

[tril-ee-uhm] / ˈtrɪl i əm /

noun

any of several plants belonging to the genus Trillium, of the lily family, having a whorl of three leaves from the center of which rises a solitary, three-petalled flower.

trillium British

/ ˈtrɪljəm /

noun

any herbaceous plant of the genus Trillium , of Asia and North America, having a whorl of three leaves at the top of the stem with a single central white, pink, or purple three-petalled flower: family Trilliaceae

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of trillium

< New Latin (Linnaeus), apparently alteration of Swedish trilling triplet, alluding to the foliation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Like the three-petaled trillium, the book has three sections.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025

Participants will learn about the history, botany, cultivation and propagation of trilliums, including photos of many of the most popular trillium species that are easily grown in Northwest gardens.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 10, 2022

There are also local wildflowers - trillium, dogtooth violets and cornflowers from ditches.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2019

In addition to American ginseng, Felumlee cultivates goldenseal, black cohosh, blue cohosh, bloodroot, red trillium, and false unicorn under his trees’ canopy.

From Salon • Aug. 24, 2019

He flew right out at me, landed on my shoulder, gave me a lecture that I shall never forget, and vanished under the scant cover of trillium and bloodroot leaves.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023