a·zal·ea

(ə-zāl′yə)

Any of various shrubs of the genus Rhododendron in the heath family, having showy, variously colored flowers.

[Greek azaleā, from feminine of azaleos, dry (so called because it grows in dry soil or from the texture of its wood); see as- in Indo-European roots.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

azalea

(əˈzeɪljə)

(Plants) any ericaceous plant of the group Azalea, formerly a separate genus but now included in the genus Rhododendron: cultivated for their showy pink or purple flowers

[C18: via New Latin from Greek, from azaleos dry; from its supposed preference for a dry situation]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

a•zal•ea

(əˈzeɪl yə)

n., pl. -eas.

any of numerous shrubs that constitute a group (Azalea) within the genus Rhododendron, of the heath family, comprising species with funnel-shaped flower clusters in a variety of colors.

[1750–60; < New Latin < Greek azaléa, n. use of feminine of azaléos dry; so named because it grows in dry soil]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

azalea - any of numerous ornamental shrubs grown for their showy flowers of various colors

rhododendron - any shrub of the genus Rhododendron: evergreen shrubs or small shrubby trees having leathery leaves and showy clusters of campanulate (bell-shaped) flowers

Azaleastrum, subgenus Azalea, subgenus Azaleastrum - group of evergreen or deciduous shrubs formerly considered a separate genus; now included in the genus Rhododendron

Translations

azalea

[əˈzeɪlɪə] N (Bot) → azalea f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

azalea

[əˈzeɪliə] n (= shrub, flower) → azalée f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

azalea

n → Azalee f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

azalea

[əˈzeɪlɪə] n → azalea

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The pines, great and small, grew wide apart; and even between the clumps of nutmeg and azalea, wide open spaces baked in the hot sunshine.

View in context

Having no ornaments fine enough for this important occasion, Amy looped her fleecy skirts with rosy clusters of azalea, and framed the white shoulders in delicate green vines.

View in context

Madame de Cintre walked some distance away, and paused before a great plant, an azalea, which was flourishing in a porcelain tub before her window.

View in context

They went together through the gorgeous unnatural beauty of cactus and azalea and found Leonard Quinton, poet and romancer, with his head hanging downward off his ottoman and his red curls sweeping the ground.

View in context

Botany cannot go farther than tell me the names of the shrubs which grow there--the high blueberry, panicled andromeda, lambkill, azalea, and rhodora--all standing in the quaking sphagnum.

View in context

Methinks there's a genius Roams in the mountains, Girdled with ivy And robed in wisteria, Lips ever smiling, Of noble demeanour, Driving the yellow pard, Tiger-attended, Couched in a chariot With banners of cassia, Cloaked with the orchid, And crowned with azaleas; Culling the perfume Of sweet flowers, he leaves In the heart a dream-blossom, Memory haunting.

View in context

It would be pleasant to take her away from that London in which she seemed an unusual figure, like a cornflower in a shop among orchids and azaleas; he had learned in the Kentish hop-field that she did not belong to the town; and he was sure that she would blossom under the soft skies of Dorset to a rarer beauty.

View in context

The azaleas have been and still are gorgeous; I only planted them this spring and they almost at once began to flower, and the sheltered corner they are in looks as though it were filled with imprisoned and perpetual sunsets.

View in context

A table banked with flowers formed a screen behind it, and against the orchids and azaleas which the young man recognised as tributes from the Beaufort hot-houses, Madame Olenska sat half-reclined, her head propped on a hand and her wide sleeve leaving the arm bare to the elbow.

View in context

What had been the counter or "bar" of the saloon, gorgeous in white and gold, now sawn in two and divided, was set up on opposite sides of the room as separate dressing-tables, decorated with huge bunches of azaleas, that hid the rough earthenware bowls, and gave each table the appearance of a vestal altar.

View in context

Robert "Buddy" Lee has been a grower of wholesale plants and a registered nurse over the years, but his one abiding preoccupation has been his need to find a spring-flowering azalea that blooms through summer and fall.

Sun?owers in October? Bloom: Industry thrives on innovation