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deflower

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Flower De
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de⋅flow⋅er

  [di-flou-er]
–verb (used with object)
1. to deprive (a woman) of virginity.
2. to despoil of beauty, freshness, sanctity, etc.
3. to deprive or strip of flowers: The deer had deflowered an entire section of the garden.
Use deflower in a Sentence
Origin:
1350–1400; ME deflouren < OF desflorer < L dēflōrāre, equiv. to dē- de- + flōr-, s. of flōs flower + -āre inf. suffix

Related forms:
de⋅flow⋅er⋅er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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Flower De
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de·flow·er   (dē-flou'ər)   
tr.v.   de·flow·ered, de·flow·er·ing, de·flow·ers

  1. To take away the virginity of (a woman).

  2. To destroy the innocence, integrity, or beauty of; ravage.


[Middle English deflouren, from Old French defflourer, from Late Latin dēflōrāre : Latin dē-, de- + Latin flōs, flōr-, flower; see bhel-3 in Indo-European roots.]
de·flow'er·er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

deflower 
1382, from O.Fr. desflorer (13c.), from L. deflorare from flos "flower" (see flora). Notion is "to strip of flowers," hence "to ravish," which is the original sense in Eng.
"The French Indians are said not to have deflowered any of our young women they captivated." [1775]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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