flowering

[ flou-er-ing ]

/ ˈflaʊ ər ɪŋ /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flowering ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

bearing flowers.

RELATED WORDS

flourishing, abloom, florescent

Nearby words

Origin of flowering

Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at flower, -ing²

Related formsnon·flow·er·ing, adjectivepre·flow·er·ing, adjectiveun·flow·er·ing, adjective

flower

[ flou-er ]

/ ˈflaʊ ər /

noun

the blossom of a plant.

Botany.

the part of a seed plant comprising the reproductive organs and their envelopes if any, especially when such envelopes are more or less conspicuous in form and color.
an analogous reproductive structure in other plants, as the mosses.

a plant, considered with reference to its blossom or cultivated for its floral beauty.

state of efflorescence or bloom: Peonies were in flower.

an ornament representing a flower.

Also called fleuron, floret. Printing. an ornamental piece of type, especially a stylized floral design, often used in a line to decorate chapter headings, page borders, or bindings.

an ornament or adornment.

the finest or most flourishing period: Poetic drama was in flower in Elizabethan England.

the best or finest member or part of a number, body, or whole: the flower of American youth.

the finest or choicest product or example.

flowers, (used with a singular verb) Chemistry. a substance in the form of a fine powder, especially as obtained by sublimation: flowers of sulfur.

verb (used without object)

to produce flowers; blossom; come to full bloom.

to come out into full development; mature.

verb (used with object)

to cover or deck with flowers.

to decorate with a floral design.

Origin of flower

1150–1200; Middle English flour flower, best of anything < Old French flor, flour, flur < Latin flōr- (stem of flōs). Cf. blossom

SYNONYMS FOR flower

13. develop, flourish, bloom, blossom, ripen.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR flower ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsre·flow·er, verb

Can be confusedflour flower

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for flowering

She is a young television mogul, actress, comedy writer, and flowering feminist in the public eye.
Comedians and Feminism Getting Laughs|Agunda Okeyo|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the other side of the coin would be, inevitably, the flowering of crime and corruption around the gambling business.
Putin's Crimea Is a Big Anti-Gay Casino|Anna Nemtsova|September 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Israel is a nation state like many nation states established as part of the flowering of nineteenth century European nationalism.
An Ahistorical Tantrum In The Times|Gil Troy|March 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And now spring is upon us—surely there is another Bolaño flowering.
Beyond Another Bolaño Release: Other Great Latino Writers|Robert Birnbaum|April 20, 2012|DAILY BEAST

It was a typical suburban dwelling with a verdant lawn and lots of flowering shrubs.
My Time With Betty Ford|Sandra McElwaine|July 10, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Life can offer worse fates than to be in love in the springtime, under Seville's flowering trees.
Heroic Spain|Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly
This is a very common hedgerow plant, flowering from July to September.
Field and Woodland Plants|William S. Furneaux
It is an erect plant, from two to four feet high, flowering from June to August.
Field and Woodland Plants|William S. Furneaux
Now and then we met with beautiful flowers and flowering shrubs, but they were not so common as we expected.
In the Eastern Seas|W.H.G. Kingston
Now, while she stopped to pluck a flowering reed, she stood among the stems like a nymph.
The Tour|Louis Couperus

British Dictionary definitions for flowering

flowering

/ (ˈflaʊərɪŋ) /

adjective

(of certain species of plants) capable of producing conspicuous flowersa flowering ash

flower

/ (ˈflaʊə) /

noun

a bloom or blossom on a plant
a plant that bears blooms or blossoms

the reproductive structure of angiosperm plants, consisting normally of stamens and carpels surrounded by petals and sepals all borne on the receptacle (one or more of these structures may be absent). In some plants it is conspicuous and brightly coloured and attracts insects or other animals for pollinationRelated adjective: floral Related prefix: antho-

any similar reproductive structure in other plants

the prime; peakin the flower of his youth

the choice or finest product, part, or representativethe flower of the young men

a decoration or embellishment

printing a type ornament, used with others in borders, chapter headings, etc

Also called: fleuron an embellishment or ornamental symbol depicting a flower

(plural) fine powder, usually produced by sublimationflowers of sulphur

verb

(intr) to produce flowers; bloom

(intr) to reach full growth or maturity

(tr) to deck or decorate with flowers or floral designs

Derived Formsflower-like, adjective

Word Origin for flower

C13: from Old French flor, from Latin flōs; see blow ³

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 flowering

flower

c.1200, "be vigorous, prosper, thrive," from flower (n.). Of a plant or bud, "to blossom," c.1300. Related: Flowered; flowering.

flower

c.1200, from Old French flor "flower, blossom; heyday, prime; fine flour; elite; innocence, virginity" (Modern French fleur), from Latin florem (nominative flos) "flower" (source of Italian fiore, Spanish flor; see flora).

Modern spelling is 14c. Ousted Old English cognate blostm (see blossom (n.)). Also used from 13c. in sense of "finest part or product of anything" and from c.1300 in the sense of "virginity." Flower children "gentle hippies" is from 1967.

Science definitions for flowering

flower

[ flou′ər ]

The reproductive structure of the seed-bearing plants known as angiosperms. A flower may contain up to four whorls or arrangements of parts: carpels, stamens, petals, and sepals. The female reproductive organs consist of one or more carpels. Each carpel includes an ovary, style, and stigma. A single carpel or a group of fused carpels is sometimes called a pistil. The male reproductive parts are the stamens, made up of a filament and anther. The reproductive organs may be enclosed in an inner whorl of petals and an outer whorl of sepals. Flowers first appeared over 120 million years ago and have evolved a great diversity of forms and coloration in response to the agents that pollinate them. Some flowers produce nectar to attract animal pollinators, and these flowers are often highly adapted to specific groups of pollinators. Flowers pollinated by moths, such as species of jasmine and nicotiana, are often pale and fragrant in order to be found in the evening, while those pollinated by birds, such as fuschias, are frequently red and odorless, since birds have good vision but a less developed sense of smell. Wind-pollinated flowers, such as those of oak trees or grass, are usually drab and inconspicuous. See Note at pollination.

Culture definitions for flowering

flower

The part of a plant that produces the seed. It usually contains petals, a pistil, and pollen-bearing stamens.

flowering

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of flowering

flower

noun

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

Origin of flower

Examples from the Web for flowering

flowering

adjective

flower

noun

verb

Word Origin for flower

flower

flower

flower

flower