flower
Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary
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[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
From Middle English flour (“‘flower’”) from Old French flor from Latin flōrem, accusative of flōs from Proto-Indo-European *bhlo- (“‘to blossom, flourish’”), extended form of Proto-Indo-European *bhel- (“‘to thrive, bloom’”). Displaced native Middle English blede "flower" (from Old English blēd "flower, fruit"), Middle English blome "flower" (from Old Norse blōmi "flower"), Middle English blosme, blossem "flower, blossom" (from Old English blōstma "flower").
[edit] Pronunciation
- (RP) IPA: /ˈflaʊə/, SAMPA: /"flaU@/
- (US) IPA: /ˈflaʊɚ/, SAMPA: /"flaU@`/
- Audio (US)help, file
- Rhymes: -aʊə(r)
- Homophones: flour
[edit] Noun
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Singular |
Plural |
flower (plural flowers)
- (botany) A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), typically including sepals, petals, stamens, and ovaries; often conspicuously colourful.
- 1894, H. G. Wells, The Flowering of the Strange Orchid
- 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.
- (vulgar, hypocoristic) The vulva, especially the labia majora.
- An inflorescence that resembles a flower, but actually contains many small florets, such as a sunflower.
- A plant that bears flowers.
- We transplanted the flowers to a larger pot.
- (usually with in) Of plants, a state of bearing blooms.
- The dogwoods are in flower this week.
- (idiomatic) The best examples or representatives of a group.
- We selected the flower of the applicants.
- (idiomatic) The best state of things; the prime.
- She was in the flower of her life.
[edit] Synonyms
- (inflorescence that resembles a flower): head, pseudanthium
- (best examples): cream
- (best state of things): prime
[edit] Translations
reproductive structure in angiosperms
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[edit] Verb
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Infinitive |
Third person singular |
Simple past |
Past participle |
Present participle |
to flower (third-person singular simple present flowers, present participle flowering, simple past and past participle flowered)
- To put forth blooms.
- (idiomatic) To reach a state of full development or great achievement.
[edit] Quotations
- 1927-1929 — Mahatma Gandhi, An Autobiography or The Story of my Experiments with Truth, Part III (IX) Simple Life, translated 1940 by Mahadev Desai
- It only needed watering to take root, to flower and to fructify, and the watering came in due course.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
to put forth blooms
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