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posy

[poh-zee]
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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

Related Words

flowersentimentbouquetnosegayblossomversemottocorsageboutonniere

Examples from the Web for posy

Historical Examples

  • Her posy was sweet-smelling and good; it spoke to the heart.

    Tiverton Tales

    Alice Brown

  • Posy, among the rest, was blindfolded, and led up to the table.

  • "Posy here'd be a good hand aboard a lightship," he observed.

    Galusha the Magnificent

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • I presume likely it's right enough for you to play that mouth organ of yours, Posy.

    Galusha the Magnificent

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • "A dear old lady," murmured Goneril, much more interested in her posy.

British Dictionary definitions for posy

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 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