painted lady

Noun

painted lady (plural painted ladies)

1. Any of certain cryptic patterned butterflies of genus Vanessa (family Nymphalidae), especially Vanessa cardui.

   Synonyms:

   cosmopolite

2. A painted trillium (Trillium undulatum), a forest wildflower of North America.
3. A flower of the pea family (Gompholobium scabrum), native to southwestern Australia.
4. (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.2011, Jan MacKell, Red Light Women of the Rocky Mountains, page 348

   Synonyms:

   abandons, alley cat, almah, bangtail, Bankside lady, bargirl, bat, beotch, blouze, blowen

5. (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; […]2006, Karen Zukowski, Creating the Artful Home, Gibbs Smith, →ISBN, page 80
6. A sea snail (Phasianella australis).