nosegay

American  

[nohz-gey] / ˈnoʊzˌgeɪ /

noun

1. a small bunch of flowers; bouquet; posy.

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nosegay British  

/ ˈnəʊzˌɡeɪ /

noun

1. a small bunch of flowers; posy

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Etymology

Origin of nosegay

1375–1425; late Middle English: literally, a gay (obsolete, something pretty; see gay) for the nose (i.e., to smell)

Example Sentences

The minor pieces included the sonnet "To the Primrose," already quoted, "My love, thou art a Nosegay sweet," and "What is Life?"

From Life and Remains of John Clare "The Northamptonshire Peasant Poet" by Cherry, J. L.

Let every Man gather a Nosegay, that may put by any worse Scent he may meet with within Doors.

From Colloquies of Erasmus, Volume I. by Erasmus, Desiderius

In the portrait of Monna Vanna degli Albizi, the Lady with the Nosegay, Verrocchio is the author of the most beautiful bust of the Renaissance.

From Florence and Northern Tuscany with Genoa With Sixteen Illustrations In Colour By William Parkinson And Sixteen Other Illustrations, Second Edition by Hutton, Edward

Nosegay, nōz′gā, n. a bunch of fragrant flowers: a posy or bouquet.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

I learn, however, with something approaching to horror, that the Nosegay in question has been counterfeited.

From A Bibliographical, Antiquarian and Picturesque Tour in France and Germany, Volume Three by Dibdin, Thomas Frognall