azalea

noun

aza·lea ə-ˈzāl-yə

: any of a subgenus (Azalea) of rhododendrons with funnel-shaped corollas and usually deciduous leaves including many species and hybrid forms cultivated as ornamentals

Examples of azalea in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Also, new azaleas require frequent watering to keep their root balls and surrounding soil moist but not overly wet as may have occurred with flooding during recent storms. —

Tom MacCubbin, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Nov. 2024 Fertilizer Camellia plants are heavy feeders and benefit from fertilizer applications during the growing season with an acid-forming azalea or camellia fertilizer. —

Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 31 Oct. 2024 The 18 Best Conifer Trees for Year-Round Beautiful Landscaping Rhododendrons and Azaleas Shade-loving rhododendrons and azaleas come in a range of sizes and flower colors. —

Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2024 Color explodes in the spring, showcasing roses, azaleas, rhododendron, mountain laurel, plus flowering fruits, while fall ushers in varying hues of the changing season as well as the garden harvest. —

Judy Garrison, Southern Living, 16 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for azalea

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin Azalea, genus name, borrowed from Greek azaléā, feminine of azaléos "dry, parched, withered," from az-, base of ázō, ázein "to dry out, parch," and in same sense azánesthai, azaínein (perhaps going back to an Indo-European verbal base *h₂ed- "dry up," whence also Hittite ḫāt- "dry up, become parched") + -aleos, adjective suffix, often paired with derivatives based on a nasal consonant

Note: The genus name Azalea was introduced by Linnaeus, first in Systema naturae, 1735. Linnaeus nowhere comments in print on the reason for the name. Hortus Cliffortianus (Amsterdam, 1737), p. 69, contains the note "Nominis rationem vide Fl. lapp. 89 e" ("for the reasoning behind the name see Flora Lapponica 89 e"), but in this paragraph of the plant description in Flora Lapponica (Amsterdam, 1737), Linnaeus simply notes why he rejected the earlier name Chamaerhododendros (it violated his prescriptions against sesquipedalian words and against forming a name by prefixing an existing name). Hence subsequent hypotheses on the choice of the name (as, for example "either from the dry soil in which it flourishes, or from its dry brittle wood" in the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition) are purely speculative. — An earlier Indo-European etymology for Greek ázein saw it as reflecting *as-d-, a "root extension" of *as-, in laryngealist terms *h₁eh₂s-, which also underlay Old Polish and Old Czech ozd "structure for drying malt," Old Czech ozditi "to dry (germinated grain for malt)." See arid and note at ash entry 2.

First Known Use

1755, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of azalea was in 1755

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Azalea.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/azalea. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

azalea

noun

aza·lea ə-ˈzāl-yə

: any of numerous rhododendrons that have funnel-shaped flowers, usually shed their leaves in the fall, and include many grown as ornamental plants

Last Updated: 30 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences

Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.

Can you solve 4 words at once?

Word of the Day

scintilla

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

azalea

noun

Examples of azalea in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near azalea

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition