azalea

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: a=zal=ea

CIDE DICTIONARY

azalea, n. [NL., fr. Gr. dry, -- so called because supposed to grow best in dry ground.].

 A genus of showy flowering shrubs, mostly natives of China or of North America; false honeysuckle. The genus is scarcely distinct from Rhododendron.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

azalea, n. any of various flowering deciduous shrubs of the genus Rhododendron, with large pink, purple, white, or yellow flowers.

Etymology

mod.L f. Gk, fem. of azaleos dry (from the dry soil in which it was believed to flourish)