a plant with brightly coloured flowers of unusual shapes. There are many different types of orchid and some of them are very rare. 兰科植物;兰花 Topics Plants and treesc1Word Originmid 19th cent.: from modern Latin Orchid(ac)eae, formed irregularly from Latin orchis, based on Greek orkhis, literally ‘testicle’ (with reference to the shape of its tuber).