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posy

[poh-zee]
See more synonyms for posy on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural po·sies.
  1. a flower, nosegay, or bouquet.
  2. Archaic. a brief motto or the like, as one inscribed within a ring.
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Origin of posy

1400–50; late Middle English; syncopated variant of poesy
Can be confusedpoesy posey posy
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for posies

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • She liked Cynthy to come in with the posies and say something bright.

    A Little Girl in Old Salem

    Amanda Minnie Douglas

  • An' you left all them things up there, an' the trees, an' the posies, an' everything like that way.

    Reels and Spindles

    Evelyn Raymond

  • And to think that as a boy he was wont to bring me posies, and wear my colors!

  • But I shouldn't wonder but what them posies heartened the chap up a bit.

    New Treasure Seekers

    E. (Edith) Nesbit

  • Miss Sallie was busy with her posies down yonder near the gate.

British Dictionary definitions for posies

posy

noun plural -sies
  1. a small bunch of flowers or a single flower; nosegay
  2. archaic a brief motto or inscription, esp one on a trinket or a ring
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Word Origin

C16: variant of poesy
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 posies

posy

n.

also posey, 1530s, "line of verse engraved on the inner surface of a ring," from poesy "poetry; a passage of poetry," which is recorded in this sense from early 15c. Meaning "flower, bouquet" first recorded 1570s, from notion of the language of flowers.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper