Quantcast
 
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web
Related Searches
Synonyms
Nearby Words

flowering

 - 6 dictionary results
Flower Shops
Fresh Arrangements Delivered Daily Call & Save $15 on Orders over $75.
www.petalsdc.com
Beautiful Fresh Flowers
Send Exclusive Flower Bouquets & Plants from RedEnvelope
www.RedEnvelope.com

flow⋅er⋅ing

  [flou-er-ing]
–adjective
bearing flowers.
Use flowering in a Sentence
Origin:
1250–1300; ME; see flower, -ing 2
Flower Shops
Fresh Arrangements Delivered Daily Call & Save $15 on Orders over $75.
www.petalsdc.com
Beautiful Fresh Flowers
Send Exclusive Flower Bouquets & Plants from RedEnvelope
www.RedEnvelope.com

flow⋅er

  [flou-er]
–noun
1. the blossom of a plant.
2. Botany.
a. the part of a seed plant comprising the reproductive organs and their envelopes if any, esp. when such envelopes are more or less conspicuous in form and color.
b. an analogous reproductive structure in other plants, as the mosses.
3. a plant, considered with reference to its blossom or cultivated for its floral beauty.
4. state of efflorescence or bloom: Peonies were in flower.
5. an ornament representing a flower.
6. Also called fleuron, floret. Printing. an ornamental piece of type, esp. a stylized floral design, often used in a line to decorate chapter headings, page borders, or bindings.
7. an ornament or adornment.
8. the finest or most flourishing period: Poetic drama was in flower in Elizabethan England.
9. the best or finest member or part of a number, body, or whole: the flower of American youth.
10. the finest or choicest product or example.
11. flowers, (used with a singular verb) Chemistry. a substance in the form of a fine powder, esp. as obtained by sublimation: flowers of sulfur.
–verb (used without object)
12. to produce flowers; blossom; come to full bloom.
13. to come out into full development; mature.
–verb (used with object)
14. to cover or deck with flowers.
15. to decorate with a floral design.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME flour flower, best of anything < OF flor, flour, flur < L flōr- (s. of flōs). Cf. blossom

Synonyms:
13. develop, flourish, bloom, blossom, ripen.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To flowering
flow·er   (flou'ər)   


(click for larger image in new window)
n.  

    1. The reproductive structure of some seed-bearing plants, characteristically having either specialized male or female organs or both male and female organs, such as stamens and a pistil, enclosed in an outer envelope of petals and sepals.

    2. Such a structure having showy or colorful parts; a blossom.

  2. A plant that is cultivated or appreciated for its blossoms.

  3. The condition or a time of having developed flowers: The azaleas were in full flower.

  4. Something, such as an ornament or a figure of speech, that resembles a flower in shape, fineness, or attractiveness.

  5. The period of highest development; the peak. See Synonyms at bloom1.

  6. The highest example or best representative: the flower of our generation.

  7. A natural development or outgrowth: "His attitude was simply a flower of his general good nature" (Henry James).

  8. flowers Chemistry A fine powder produced by condensation or sublimation of a compound.

v.   flow·ered, flow·er·ing, flow·ers

v.   intr.

  1. To produce a flower or flowers; blossom.

  2. To develop naturally or fully; mature: His artistic talents flowered early.

v.   tr.
To decorate with flowers or with a floral pattern.

[Middle English flour, from Old French flor, from Latin flōs, flōr-; see bhel-3 in Indo-European roots.]
flow'er·er n., flow'er·less adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Cultural Dictionary

flower

The part of a plant that produces the seed. It usually contains petals, a pistil, and pollen-bearing stamens.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

flower  (n.)
c.1200, from O.Fr. flor, from L. florem (nom. flos) "flower" (see flora), from PIE base *bhlo- "to blossom, flourish" (cf. M.Ir. blath, Welsh blawd "blossom, flower," O.E. blowan "to flower, bloom"). Modern spelling is 14c. Ousted O.E. cognate blostm (see blossom). Also used from 13c. in sense of "finest part or product of anything." The verb is first recorded c.1225. Flower children "gentle hippies" is from 1967.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Science Dictionary
flower   (flou'ər)  Pronunciation Key 


(click for larger image in new window)

The reproductive structure of the seed-bearing plants known as angiosperms. A flower may contain up to four whorls or arrangements of parts: carpels, stamens, petals, and sepals. The female reproductive organs consist of one or more carpels. Each carpel includes an ovary, style, and stigma. A single carpel or a group of fused carpels is sometimes called a pistil. The male reproductive parts are the stamens, made up of a filament and anther. The reproductive organs may be enclosed in an inner whorl of petals and an outer whorl of sepals. Flowers first appeared over 120 million years ago and have evolved a great diversity of forms and coloration in response to the agents that pollinate them. Some flowers produce nectar to attract animal pollinators, and these flowers are often highly adapted to specific groups of pollinators. Flowers pollinated by moths, such as species of jasmine and nicotiana, are often pale and fragrant in order to be found in the evening, while those pollinated by birds, such as fuschias, are frequently red and odorless, since birds have good vision but a less developed sense of smell. Wind-pollinated flowers, such as those of oak trees or grass, are usually drab and inconspicuous. See Note at pollination.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see flowering on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us:
Partner Sites:
ExpediaHotelsHotwireLife123LiveDailyThe Daily BeastUrbanspoonAsk AnswersBloglinesSendori