boutonniere

[ boot-n-eer, boo-tuhn-yair ]
See synonyms for boutonniere on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a flower or small bouquet worn, usually by a man, in the buttonhole of a lapel.

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Origin of boutonniere

1
1875–80; <French boutonnière buttonhole (boutonbutton + -ière suffix for things that facilitate the use of that denoted by the stem <Latin -āria-ary

Words Nearby boutonniere

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use boutonniere in a sentence

  • An after dinner cigar, and a little boutonniere of fragrant flowers furnished by a gray-haired old lady, completed the program.

    The Everett massacre | Walker C. Smith
  • At each place, beside the napkin, is a rich red rose, just large enough to form a dainty boutonniere.

    Suppers | Paul Pierce
  • He lifted the lapel of his coat, carrying the boutonniere to his nose.

    The White Moll | Frank L. Packard
  • Then as she glanced at the lapel of his coat she continued: "And you must have a boutonniere; may I select something for you?"

    The Heatherford Fortune | Mrs. Georgie Sheldon
  • He seems to have passed it and to have plucked it casually,—but it is a boutonniere with tin foil round it.

British Dictionary definitions for boutonniere

boutonniere

/ (ˌbʊtɒnɪˈɛə) /


noun
  1. another name for buttonhole (def. 2)

Origin of boutonniere

1
C19: from French: buttonhole, from bouton button

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012