floret

[flawr-it, flohr-]

noun

a small flower.
Botany. one of the closely clustered small flowers that make up the flower head of a composite flower, as the daisy.
one of the tightly clustered divisions of a head of broccoli or cauliflower.

Also flo·rette [flaw-ret, floh-] /flɔˈrɛt, floʊ-/. spun silk obtained from floss.
Printing. flower(def 6).

Origin of floret

1350–1400; Middle English flouret < Old French florete, diminutive of flor flower; see -et

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for florette

Historical Examples of florette

When he returned, Florette had vanished; "run after the ensign," people said, and they were right.
A Word Only A Word, Complete
Georg Ebers
Have I not, although desperately in love with Florette, respected the girl?
The Iron Pincers
Eugne Sue
I shall run for Florette to the house of the worthy woman where I have concealed her.
The Iron Pincers
Eugne Sue
(To Florette) Your excellent judgment has served you well, dear girl.
The Iron Pincers
Eugne Sue
Happy as Florette was with her child, she did not long survive.
The Iron Pincers
Eugne Sue

British Dictionary definitions for florette

floret

noun

a small flower, esp one of many making up the head of a composite flower

Word Origin for floret

C17: from Old French florete a little flower, from flor flower

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

Word Origin and History for florette

floret

c.1400, flourette, from Old French florete "little flower; cheap silk material," diminutive of flor "flower," from Latin flora (see flora). Botany sense is from 1670s.

florette in Science

floret

[flôr′ĭt]

A small or reduced flower, especially one that is part of a larger inflorescence, such as those of the grasses and plants of the composite family.