painted lady

English

painted lady (plural painted ladies)

Any of certain cryptic patterned butterflies of genus Vanessa (family Nymphalidae), especially Vanessa cardui.
Synonym: (US) cosmopolite
A painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), a forest wildflower of North America.
A flower of the pea family (Gompholobium scabrum), native to southwestern Australia.
(slang, dated or historical) A prostitute (in reference to their use of makeup).
Synonyms: see Thesaurus:prostitute
- 2011, Jan MacKell, Red Light Women of the Rocky Mountains, page 348:
  In Cheyenne in 1883, a Dr. W.A. Wyan tried in vain to save painted lady Sallie Talbot.
(US, architecture) A Victorian house repainted with vibrant colors to accentuate the architectural design, especially in San Francisco, California.
- 2006, Karen Zukowski, Creating the Artful Home, Gibbs Smith, →ISBN, page 80:
  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).

butterfly