boutonniere

[boot-n-eer, boo-tuhn-yair]

noun

1. a flower or small bouquet worn, usually by a man, in the buttonhole of a lapel.

boutonniere

/ ˌbʊtɒnɪˈɛə /

noun

1. another name for buttonhole

Word History and Origins

Origin of boutonniere¹

1875–80; < French boutonnière buttonhole ( bouton button + -ière suffix for things that facilitate the use of that denoted by the stem < Latin -āria -ary

Word History and Origins

Origin of boutonniere¹

C19: from French: buttonhole, from bouton _button

Example Sentences

Tender, honest and evocatively photographed, this documentary sticks to you like a boutonniere on a lapel.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

We turned that over and over during the drive that followed until I burst out laughing — the crazed kind that might result from being sprayed in the face by the Joker's trick boutonniere.

Read more on Salon

As homecomings go, it was one bloody boutonniere.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Sitting in his parents’ backyard in mid-May, he showed off pictures of Baby Elliott, then 9 months old, at prom the night before, wearing a tiny floral boutonniere Walton had made in an agriculture class.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Some have gradient hues or stripes and can be bigger than your hand or as dainty as boutonnieres.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• garland 
• pot 
• vase 
• wreath