nosegay
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of nosegay
1375–1425; late Middle English: literally, a gay (obsolete, something pretty; see gay) for the nose (i.e., to smell)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ms. Zoller walked down the aisle carrying a nosegay of lily of the valley blooms, her grandmother’s favorite, from her own garden.
From New York Times • May 27, 2022
In 1859, Nightingale wrote that when she had been ill, her recovery quickened after she received “a nosegay of wild flowers”.
From The Guardian • Mar. 14, 2020
The tradition of carrying myrtle began after Queen Victoria was given a nosegay containing myrtle by Prince Albert's grandmother during a visit to Gotha in Germany.
From BBC • Oct. 12, 2018
Dried flowers; a nosegay, a posy, a rose clipped the night before battle.
From The Verge • Mar. 31, 2018
“Here’s your posy, Mother! Laurie never forgets that,” she said, putting the fresh nosegay in the vase that stood in ‘Marmee’s corner’, and was kept supplied by the affectionate boy.
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
