painted lady

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painted lady

noun painted ladies

Any of certain cryptic patterned butterflies of genus Vanessa (family Nymphalidae), especially Vanessa cardui.
Similar: cosmopolite
A painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), a forest wildflower of North America.
A flower of the pea family (Gompholobium scabrum), native to southwestern Australia.
dated, historical, slang A prostitute (in reference to their use of makeup). In Cheyenne in 1883, a Dr. W.A. Wyan tried in vain to save painted lady Sallie Talbot.
Similar: abandons, alley cat, almah, bangtail, Bankside lady, bargirl, bat, beotch, blouze, blowen, blowsabella, brass nail
US A Victorian house repainted with vibrant colors to accentuate the architectural design, especially in San Francisco, California. An archetypal American streetscape is lined with Aesthetic movement houses: Stick Style cottages with muscular roof trusses and exposed timbering; many-colored painted ladies with gingerbread porches; […]
A sea snail (Phasianella australis).

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noun butterfly

中文	小紅蛺蝶 /小红蛱蝶, 苧胥
Français	belle-dame, vanesse du chardon

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MLA

"painted lady." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/painted%20lady. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

painted lady. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/painted%20lady

Chicago

"painted lady." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/painted%20lady.

BibTeX

@misc{painted_lady_2026,
  title = {painted lady},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/painted%20lady},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}