(n)Eurasian checkered lily with pendant flowers usually veined and checkered with purple or maroon on a pale ground and shaped like the bells carried by lepers in medieval times; widely grown as an ornamental, Syn.leper lily, checkered daffodil, Fritillaria meleagris, guinea-hen flower
n. 1. (Bot.) A plant with checkered petals, of the genus Fritillaria: the Guinea-hen flower. See Fritillaria. [ 1913 Webster ]
2. (Zool.) One of several species of butterflies belonging to Argynnis and allied genera; -- so called because the coloring of their wings resembles that of the common Fritillaria. See Aphrodite. [ 1913 Webster ]