Meaning & use
fleur-de-lis
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Meanings
nouncountable
A stylized lily design with three petals, long used in heraldry and decoration, especially in France.
Grammar: Plural is fleurs-de-lis, with the same pronunciation.
Patterns
- a fleur-de-lis on something
The royal banner carried a golden fleur-de-lis.
A fleur-de-lis decorated the iron gate.
The flag of New Orleans shows a fleur-de-lis.
nouncountable
A symbol in the form of the lily design, such as the emblem of some scouting organizations.
Grammar: Used for the emblem rather than the plant.
The scout badge featured a fleur-de-lis.
He wore a pin shaped like a fleur-de-lis.
The compass rose ended in a fleur-de-lis.
Word forms
| plural | fleurs-de-lis |
|---|
Common combinations
- golden fleur-de-lis
- The shield had a golden fleur-de-lis.
- fleur-de-lis pattern
- The wallpaper had a fleur-de-lis pattern.
- fleur-de-lis emblem
- The team wore a fleur-de-lis emblem.
- fleur-de-lis design
- The jeweler made a fleur-de-lis design.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lily emblem
- Lily emblem is a plain description, while fleur-de-lis names the specific stylized heraldic shape.
- heraldic lily
- Heraldic lily is a descriptive phrase that can include other lily designs.
Word family
- fleur noun
- French for flower
Commonly confused: fleur-de-lis or fleur-de-sel?
fleur-de-lis vs fleur-de-sel
Fleur-de-sel is a fine French sea salt, while fleur-de-lis is a lily symbol.
Practice
A fleur-de-lis is best described as
Choose one answer.
A fleur-de-lis is a lily-shaped design used in heraldry. The other options are unrelated.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fleur-de-lis”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.