painted lady

Painted \Paint"ed\, a.
   1. Covered or adorned with paint; portrayed in colors.
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            As idle as a painted ship
            Upon a painted ocean.                 --Coleridge.
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   2. (Nat. Hist.) Marked with bright colors; as, the painted
      turtle; painted bunting.
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   {Painted beauty} (Zool.), a handsome American butterfly
      ({Vanessa Huntera}), having a variety of bright colors,

   {Painted cup} (Bot.), any plant of an American genus of herbs
      ({Castilleia}) in which the bracts are usually
      bright-colored and more showy than the flowers.
      {Castilleia coccinea} has brilliantly scarlet bracts, and
      is common in meadows.

   {Painted finch}. See {Nonpareil}.

   {Painted lady} (Zool.), a bright-colored butterfly. See
      {Thistle butterfly}.

   {Painted turtle} (Zool.), a common American freshwater
      tortoise ({Chrysemys picta}), having bright red and yellow
      markings beneath.
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Thistle \This"tle\, n. [OE. thistil, AS. [thorn]istel; akin to
   D. & G. distel, OHG. distila, distil, Icel. [thorn]istill,
   Sw. tistel, Dan. tidsel; of uncertain origin.] (Bot.)
   Any one of several prickly composite plants, especially those
   of the genera {Cnicus}, {Craduus}, and {Onopordon}. The name
   is often also applied to other prickly plants.
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   {Blessed thistle}, {Carduus benedictus}, so named because it
      was formerly considered an antidote to the bite of
      venomous creatures.

   {Bull thistle}, {Cnicus lanceolatus}, the common large
      thistle of neglected pastures.

   {Canada thistle}, {Cnicus arvensis}, a native of Europe, but
      introduced into the United States from Canada.

   {Cotton thistle}, {Onopordon Acanthium}.

   {Fuller's thistle}, the teasel.

   {Globe thistle}, {Melon thistle}, etc. See under {Globe},
      {Melon}, etc.

   {Pine thistle}, {Atractylis gummifera}, a native of the
      Mediterranean region. A vicid gum resin flows from the
      involucre.

   {Scotch thistle}, either the cotton thistle, or the musk
      thistle, or the spear thistle; -- all used national
      emblems of Scotland.

   {Sow thistle}, {Sonchus oleraceus}.

   {Spear thistle}. Same as {Bull thistle}.

   {Star thistle}, a species of {Centaurea}. See {Centaurea}.

   {Torch thistle}, a candelabra-shaped plant of the genus
      Cereus. See {Cereus}.

   {Yellow thistle}, {Cincus horridulus}.
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   {Thistle bird} (Zool.), the American goldfinch, or
      yellow-bird ({Spinus tristis}); -- so called on account of
      its feeding on the seeds of thistles. See Illust. under
      {Goldfinch}.

   {Thistle butterfly} (Zool.), a handsomely colored American
      butterfly ({Vanessa cardui}) whose larva feeds upon
      thistles; -- called also {painted lady}.

   {Thistle cock} (Zool.), the corn bunting ({Emberiza
      militaria}). [Prov. Eng.]

   {Thistle crown}, a gold coin of England of the reign of James
      I., worth four shillings.

   {Thistle finch} (Zool.), the goldfinch; -- so called from its
      fondness for thistle seeds. [Prov. Eng.]

   {Thistle funnel}, a funnel having a bulging body and flaring
      mouth.
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