To grow well or luxuriantly; thrive: The crops flourished in the rich soil.
To do or fare well; prosper: "No village on the railroad failed to flourish"(John Kenneth Galbraith).
To be in a period of highest productivity, excellence, or influence: a poet who flourished in the tenth century.
To make bold, sweeping movements: The banner flourished in the wind.
v.
tr.
To wield, wave, or exhibit dramatically.
n.
A dramatic or stylish movement, as of waving or brandishing: "A few ... musicians embellish their performance with a flourish of the fingers"(Frederick D. Bennett).
An embellishment or ornamentation: a signature with a distinctive flourish.
An ostentatious act or gesture: a flourish of generosity.
Music A showy or ceremonious passage, such as a fanfare.
[Middle English florishen, from Old French florir, floriss-, from Vulgar Latin *flōrīre, from Latin flōrēre, to bloom, from flōs, flōr-, flower; see bhel-3 in Indo-European roots.]
flour'ish·er n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to swing back and forth boldly and dramatically: flourished her newly signed contract; brandish a sword; waving a baton.
c.1300, "to blossom, grow," from O.Fr. floriss-, stem of florir, from L. florere "to bloom, blossom, flower," from flos "a flower" (see flora). Metaphoric sense of "thrive" is c.1340. Meaning "to brandish (a weapon)" first attested 1382. The noun meaning "literary or rhetorical embellishment" is from 1603.
a showy gesture; "she entered with a great flourish"
2.
an ornamental embellishment in writing
3.
a display of ornamental speech or language
4.
the act of waving
5.
(music) a short lively tune played on brass instruments; "he entered to a flourish of trumpets"; "her arrival was greeted with a rousing fanfare"
verb
1.
grow vigorously; "The deer population in this town is thriving"; "business is booming" [syn: boom]
2.
make steady progress; be at the high point in one's career or reach a high point in historical significance or importance; "The new student is thriving" [syn: thrive]
3.
move or swing back and forth; "She waved her gun" [syn: brandish]
Blow\ (bl[=o]), v. i. [imp. Blew (bl[=u]); p. p. Blown (bl[=o]n); p. pr. & vb. n. Blowing.] [OE. blowen, AS. bl[=o]wan to blossom; akin to OS. bl[=o]jan, D. bloeijen, OHG. pluojan, MHG. bl["u]ejen, G. bl["u]hen, L. florere to flourish, OIr. blath blossom. Cf. Blow to puff, Flourish.] To flower; to blossom; to bloom. How blows the citron grove. --Milton.
Fleur"y\, a. [F. fleuri covered with flowers, p. p. of fleurir. See Flourish.] (Her.) Finished at the ends with fleurs-de-lis; -- said esp. of a cross so decorated.
Flour"ish\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flourished; p. pr. & vb. n. Flourishing.] [OE. florisshen, flurisshen, OF. flurir, F. fleurir, fr. L. florere to bloom, fr. flos, floris, flower. See Flower, and -ish.]1. To grow luxuriantly; to increase and enlarge, as a healthy growing plant; a thrive. A tree thrives and flourishes in a kindly . . . soil. --Bp. Horne. 2. To be prosperous; to increase in wealth, honor, comfort, happiness, or whatever is desirable; to thrive; to be prominent and influental; specifically, of authors, painters, etc., to be in a state of activity or production. When all the workers of iniquity do flourish. --Ps. xcii 7 Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish, and that by the means of their wickedness. --Nelson. We say Of those that held their heads above the crowd, They flourished then or then. --Tennyson. 3. To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures and lofty expressions; to be flowery. They dilate . . . and flourish long on little incidents. --J. Watts. 4. To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements, by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with fantastic and irregular motion. Impetuous spread The stream, and smoking flourished o'er his head. --Pope. 5. To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write graceful, decorative figures. 6. To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude. Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish thus? --Shak. 7. To boast; to vaunt; to brag. --Pope.
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