Etymology From Middle English flour, from Anglo-Norman flur, from Latin flōrem, accusative of flōs, from Proto-Italic *flōs, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”). Doublet of fleur, flor, flour, bloom, and blossom. Partly displaced native Old English blostma (which is cognate), whence Modern English blossom.
A colorful, conspicuous structure associated with angiosperms, frequently scented and attracting various insects, and which may or may not be used for sexual reproduction.
O Laurinella! little doſt thou wot / How fraile a flower thou doſt ſo highly prize: / Beauty's the flower, but love the flower-pot / That muſt preſerve it, els it quickly dyes.1653, William Basse, “Clio, or The First Muse; in 9 Eglogues in Honor of 9 Vertues. As It was in His Dayes Intended. [Munday. Laurinella. Eglogue. Of True and Chast Love.]”, in J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, The Pastorals and Other Workes of William Basse. […] (Miscellaneous Tracts, Temp. Eliz. & Jac. I), [London: s.n.], published 1870, →OCLC:
The flowers glowed red and golden: snapdragons and sunflowers, and nasturtians trailing all over the turf walls and peeping in at the round windows.1954 July 29, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “A Long-Expected Party”, in The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings, London: George Allen & Unwin, →OCLC:
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Biology, Botany, Natural sciences A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens and/or a pistil.
You know, Darwin studied their fertilisation, and showed that the whole structure of an ordinary orchid flower was contrived in order that moths might carry the pollen from plant to plant.1894, H. G. Wells, The Flowering of the Strange Orchid:
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A plant that bears flowers, especially a plant that is small and lacks wood.
We transplanted the flowers to a larger pot.
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The stem of a flowering plant with the blossom or blossoms attached, used for decoration, as a gift, etc.
He always keeps a vase full of flowers in his office.
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Usually, With in Of plants, a state of bearing blooms.
The dogwoods are in flower this week.
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Euphemistic, Familiar The vulva, especially the labia majora.
[F]or ſtill, that my virgin-flower was yet uncrop'd never once enter'd into his head, and he would have thought it idling with time and words to have queſtion'd me upon it.1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 106:
So was it asserted, that whenever a maiden was destined to die unmarried, as surely would the plant wither away and perish, and if a dughter of the Renseccos lost her honour or had given away her flower to an unworthy lover, then would the flower be blighted overnight.1893, Emily Gerard, The Voice of a Flower, page 44:
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In some local tradditions a fallen bride was married wearing a crown of straw rather than a garland of flowers, to symbolize her loss of virginity – the wilting of her flower.2018, Satu Lidman, Gender, Violence and Attitudes: Lessons from Early Modern Europe:
"Our flesh as one!" he laughed, speaking loudly. "Sweating bodies entwined in carnal passion! As I plunge myself deep into her lady flower, again and again and again— !"2019, Shaun Barger, Mage Against the Machine, page 146:
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The best examples or representatives of a group.
At Floddon hyllys, / Our bowys, our byllys / Slew all the floure / Of theyr honoure.1513, John Skelton, Agaynst the Scottes; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 116, lines 25–28:
The choice and flower of all things profitable in other Bookes, the Pſalmes doe both more briefly contayne, and more mouingly alſo expreſſe, by reason of that Poeticall forme wherewith they are written.1597 [1593–1662], Richard Hooker, “The fifth Booke”, in Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, page 258:
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the flower of the chivalry of all Spain1808, Robert Southey, Chronicle of the Cid, from the Spanish:
In times of peace, so clean and bright, / And with a new-washed morning face, / He walked Pall Mall, a goodly sight, / The finished flower of all the race.1915, Katharine Tynan, The Golden Boy:
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The best state of things; the prime.
She was in the flower of her life.
A simple maiden in her flower / Is worth a hundred coats-of-arms.1842, Alfred Tennyson, “Lady Clara Vere de Vere”, in Poems. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, stanza 2, page 156:
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NO lady fair in hall or bower, / In days when knighthood was in flower, / Or high-born dame with jewels set, / Or Tudor or Plantagenet, / E’er wore enwreath’d on form and face / Thy royal robe of richest grace.1899, James [Mackintosh] Kennedy, “To Queen Alexandra”, in The Scottish and American Poems of James Kennedy, J[ohn] S[tuart] Ogilvie Publishing Company, […], page 197:
The Flovvers of Grains mix'd vvith VVater vvill make a ſort of Glue.1731, John Arbuthnot, “Of the Different Intentions to be Pursued in the Choice of Aliment in Different Constitutions”, in An Essay Concerning the Nature of Aliments, and the Choice of Them, According to the Different Constitutions of Human Bodies. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson […], →OCLC, prop[osition] VII, page 185:
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Chemistry, Natural sciences, Physical sciencesIn plural, Obsolete A substance in the form of a powder, especially when condensed from sublimation.
the flowers of sulphur
Exposed to a moderate fire in subliming pots, [brimstone] rises all into dry, and almost tasteless, flowers; whereas being exposed to a naked fire, it affords store of a saline and fretting liquor.1661, Robert Boyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Sceptical Chymist: or Chymico-physical Doubts & Paradoxes, […], London: […] J. Cadwell for J. Crooke, […], →OCLC:
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A figure of speech; an ornament of style.
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Media, Printing, Publishing Ornamental type used chiefly for borders around pages, cards, etc.
I pointed out to the late Mr. Catherwood, of the firm of Caslon and Catherwood, the inconvenience of both these modes of cutting flowers,1841, William Savage, A Dictionary of the Art of Printing:
And if any man lye with her at all, and her flowers be vpon him, hee shall be vncleane seuen dayes: and all the bed whereon he lyeth, shall be vncleane.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Leviticus 15:24:
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A delicate, fragile, or oversensitive person.
[…] she whispered leaning over and kissing her forehead; and then added, 'Mummy loves you, precious flower.'2015, Sally Chiwuzie, Silent Symphonies:
“Take care of yourself out there, Brown, you delicate flower.”2016, Barbara Ann Wright, Paladins of the Storm Lord:
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“Come on, you delicate flower, we just need to nap. It will be fine.”2021, Alica McKenna-Johnson, The Unicorn's Scion:
It has been my desire to find a way to express my gratitude to these women for quite some time but I really did not know how to give them their flowers as a method to tell them thanks.2010, M. Joyce Dickerson, A Tribute to 101 Incredible Women of Distinction Who Influenced My Life From My House to the White House:
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I was able to give Coach Bryant his flowers while he was alive, and I have always been thankful I was able to do that.2011, Tommy Hicks, Game of My Life Alabama Crimson Tide, page 149:
Gonzalo managed to fake a smile. When will anyone ever give him his flowers? His hard work kept him and his kingdom this far. Wasn't anyone going to acknowledge the fact?2023, Torry Smith, Alpha's Unexpected Luna:
Sabrina Carpenter is, finally, getting her flowers. Ever since demurely (I don't use that word lightly!!!) performing what would become the song of 2024 as part of her Coachella set—no, literally, "Espresso" just won the MTV Video Music Award for Song of the Year—all eyes have been on 'Brina.2024 September 21, Heath Owens, “What to Wear to Sabrina Carpenter's 'Short N' Sweet' Tour”, in Cosmopolitan:
Etymology From Middle English flour, from Anglo-Norman flur, from Latin flōrem, accusative of flōs, from Proto-Italic *flōs, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“to thrive, bloom”). Doublet of fleur, flor, flour, bloom, and blossom. Partly displaced native Old English blostma (which is cognate), whence Modern English blossom.
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To put forth blooms.
This plant flowers in June.
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To decorate with pictures of flowers.
3
To reach a state of full development or achievement.
when flowr'd my youthful spring1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “December. Ægloga Duodecima.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Iohn Wolfe for Iohn Harrison the yonger, […], →OCLC:
It only needed watering to take root, to flower and to fructify, and the watering came in due course.1940 Mahadev Desai, translator, Mahatma Gandhi, An Autobiography, Part III (IX) The Story of My Experiments with Truth/Part III/Simple Life, original published 1927-1929
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In life after life of this now-expanded circle of women artists, writers and revolutionaries, the same appeared: a flowing of creative insight and vision seemed the follow a sexual flowering.2012, Naomi Wolf, Vagina: A New Biography, page 43:
That beer did flower a little.1627 (indicated as 1626), Francis [Bacon], “(please specify the page, or |century=I to X)”, in Sylua Syluarum: Or A Naturall Historie. In Ten Centuries. […], London: […] William Rawley […]; [p]rinted by J[ohn] H[aviland] for William Lee […], →OCLC:
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To come off as flowers by sublimation.
observations which have flowered off[1644], [John Milton], Of Education. To Master Samuel Hartlib, [London]: […] [Thomas Underhill and/or Thomas Johnson], →OCLC:
Leaving the weavers’ village behind you, and crossing the sandy bed of the Vengavati or ‘Swift-flower,’ which, however, contained not a drop of water, you reach the ancient Jain temple.1886–1890, J. D. Rees, Narratives of Tours in India, page 340
Rhŏdănus, i, m. The Rhodanus (now Rhone); a river of Gaul [prob. a northern word, meaning “Swift-flower or Swift-passer”].1888, John T. White, The Seventh Book of Cæsar’s Gallic War with a Vocabulary, page 224:
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sará-yu, f. [swift flower: √sri] N. of a river (in Oudh), in C. gnly. û.1893, Arthur A. MacDonnell, A Sanskrit-English Dictionary, page 340:
one that flows with force and speed; the fast flower1959, Scottish Studies, volumes 3-4, page 92:
Bonnie partner with Scottish flower (5) [as a clue for CLYDE]2019 August 24, Radio Times Crossword: