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

Learn the best times and proper techniques for fertilizing azaleas for healthy growth and vibrant blooms. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 15 Feb. 2025

The grounds burst with color each spring as azaleas reach their full bloom under the shade of graceful live oaks. —Kristy Christiansen, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2025

Stroll the formal gardens, which include flowering bulbs, azaleas, and the largest cherry tree display in the Carolinas. —Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 15 Jan. 2025

Miraculously, the fire barely touched the area of the nursery where thousands of potted camellias and azaleas were ready for sale under a breezy wood-lathe framework covered by shade cloth. —Jeanette Marantos, Los Angeles Times, 15 Jan. 2025

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

Rhymes for azalea

• mammalia
• regalia
• vidalia
• marginalia
• saturnalia
• terminalia
• paraphernalia
• thalia

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