subs. (stock exchange).—A titled member.
1871. G. D. ATKIN, House Scraps, 14. A young sprig of nobility … was once heard to tell a friend that when he was in the House he felt like ‘an orchid in a turnip field’…. ‘An ORCHID’ has become the nick-name for any member with a ‘handle’ to his name.
1890. Cassell’s Saturday Journal, 26 April. All members [of the Stock Exchange] who have handles to their names are described as ORCHIDS.
