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flowers - 6 dictionary results

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


13. develop, flourish, bloom, blossom, ripen.
flow·er   (flou'ər)   


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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.
  1. A plant that is cultivated or appreciated for its blossoms.
  2. The condition or a time of having developed flowers: The azaleas were in full flower.
  3. Something, such as an ornament or a figure of speech, that resembles a flower in shape, fineness, or attractiveness.
  4. The period of highest development; the peak. See Synonyms at bloom1.
  5. The highest example or best representative: the flower of our generation.
  6. A natural development or outgrowth: "His attitude was simply a flower of his general good nature" (Henry James).
  7. 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.

Main Entry: flow·ers
Pronunciation: 'flau(-&)rz
Function: noun plural
: a finely divided powder produced especially by condensation or sublimation

flowers flow·ers (flou'ərz)
pl.n.
A fine powder produced by condensation or sublimation of a compound.

flower   (flou'ər)  Pronunciation Key 


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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.

Flowers

Very few species of flowers are mentioned in the Bible although they abounded in Palestine. It has been calculated that in Western Syria and Palestine from two thousand to two thousand five hundred plants are found, of which about five hundred probably are British wild-flowers. Their beauty is often alluded to (Cant. 2:12; Matt. 6:28). They are referred to as affording an emblem of the transitory nature of human life (Job 14:2; Ps. 103:15; Isa. 28:1; 40:6; James 1:10). Gardens containing flowers and fragrant herbs are spoken of (Cant. 4:16; 6:2).

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