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

Truly she doth so far exceed Our women nowadays, As doth the gillyflower a weed; And more a thousand ways.

From The Home Book of Verse — Volume 1 by Burton Egbert Stevenson

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 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

The profusion of sweet-peas, double poppies, bluebottles, stock gillyflower, and roses, I never saw equalled.

From Life in Mexico by Madame (Frances Erskine Inglis) Calderón de la Barca

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