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 poem in which these lines are found, is entitled, 'A Nosegay alwaies sweet for Lovers to send for Tokens of Love.'

From Flowers and Flower-Gardens With an Appendix of Practical Instructions and Useful Information Respecting the Anglo-Indian Flower-Garden by Richardson, David Lester

What Dibdin euphemistically christened the Lincoln Nosegay was a second pair of bellows applied about the same date to the reddening flame of bibliographical ardour.

From The Book-Collector A General Survey of the Pursuit and of those who have engaged in it at Home and Abroad from the Earliest Period to the Present Time by Hazlitt, William Carew

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

Dibdin printed a list of his treasures under the title of "The Lincolne Nosegay."

From How to Form a Library, 2nd ed by Wheatley, Henry Benjamin

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