type of bulbous flowering plant, 1540s, from Latin narcissus, from Greek narkissos, a plant name, not the modern narcissus, possibly a type of iris or lily, associated with Greek narkē "numbness" (see narcotic (n.)) because of the sedative effect of the alkaloids in the plant, but Beekes considers this folk-etymology and writes that "The suffix clearly points to a Pre-Greek word."