ikebana

[ik-uh-bah-nuh; Japanese ee-ke-bah-nah]

noun

the Japanese art of arranging flowers.

Origin of ikebana

1900–05; < Japanese, equivalent to ike(y) to make live, causative of ik- live (< *ika-i) + -bana combining form of hana flower (earlier fana < *pana)

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British Dictionary definitions for ikebana

ikebana

noun

the Japanese decorative art of flower arrangement

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 ikebana

1901, from Japanese, from ikeru "to keep alive, arrange" + hana "flower."