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.
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
In a 1792 diary entry, the novelist Frances Burney noted her companions’ indignation at the antics of an apparent madwoman who wandered the gallery, clutching a nosegay and mumbling.
From New York Times • Dec. 16, 2015
When they were done, Fern reluctantly contributed her two treasures to the nosegay.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
