gillyflower

American  

[jil-ee-flau-er] / ˈdʒɪl iˌflaʊ ər /

Or gilliflower

noun

1. Archaic. any of several fragrant flowers of the genus Dianthus, as the carnation or clove pink.

2. any of various other usually fragrant flowers, especially a stock, Matthiola incana, of the mustard family.

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gillyflower British  

/ ˈdʒɪlɪˌflaʊə /

noun

1. any of several plants having fragrant flowers, such as the stock and wallflower

2. an archaic name for carnation

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Etymology

Origin of gillyflower

1300–50; alteration (by association with flower ) of Middle English gilofre, geraflour < Old French gilofre, girofle < Latin caryophyllum < Greek karyóphyllon clove ( káryo ( n ) nut + phýllon leaf )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gillyflower

Gay couples have snapped up rainbow-colored arrangements for the occasions, some of dyed roses, others a mélange of blossoms that span the spectrum from red gingers to yellow mums to purple gillyflower.

From BusinessWeek ● Oct. 20, 2011

I'll get the seed of that mottled gillyflower from my mother as soon as possible.

From The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of Him by Paul Leicester Ford

It has beautiful narrow garden strips in front,—solid patches of color in sweet gillyflower bushes, from which the kindly housewife plucked a nosegay for us.

From Penelope's Progress Being Such Extracts from the Commonplace Book of Penelope Hamilton As Relate to Her Experiences in Scotland by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin

It remained empty, therefore, whilst in the hamlet every window exhibited two or three children’s faces peering through the branches of gillyflower at the first noise in the street.

From Tales from Blackwood Volume 5 by Various

In May the rich brown and gold of the gillyflower is seen on every side, and their fragrance is wafted far and wide by every breeze that blows.

From A Cotswold Village by J. Arthur Gibbs

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