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flourishing

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Etymology and origin of the English word flourishing

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1303 Mannyng's Handlyng Synne
Ultimate origin
Latin flōs
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
English flourish
English flourishing

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈflʌɹɪʃɪŋ/[1]
  • US: /ˈflɝɪʃɪŋ/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English flourish + -ing,[2][3][4] first as the Middle English verbal noun florishing.[5][6] The verb is from Middle English florishen, from Old French floriss-, the stem of florir (“to blossom, bloom; prosper”),[3][4] from Latin flōreō (“to bloom, blossom”), from flōs (“flower”),[3][4] which Etymonline traces to Proto-Indo-European *bhel- (“to thrive, bloom”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

As a noun, the action of flourishing, the season of blooming: 1303, in Mannyng's Handlyng Synne.[2][7][5] As an adjective, prosperous or thriving: before 1340, in Rolle's Psalter.[2] Etymonline dates the adjective "prospering, thriving" to the late 14th century.[3]

Semantic evolution

The noun followed the senses of the verb flourish: from blossom and the season of blooming it passed to decoration or embellishment (Chaucer, about 1384), and then to the brandishing of a weapon (1552), a fanfare (1594, in Shakespeare's Richard III) and florid expression (1603).[7][2][5] Chaucer used it of bloom and of decoration.[6] The adjective went the other way, from "prosperous, thriving" (before 1340) to "budding, growing luxuriantly" (about 1400, in Mandeville's Travels).[2][3] From 1555 it described someone vigorous, in the bloom of youth or health,[2] from before 1552 a florid style, from 1616 boastful, swaggering people.[2] Today the adjective mainly means thriving or doing well.[8][9]

Timeline

  • 1303 – noun, the action of flourishing; the time of blooming.[2][5]
  • before 1340 – adjective, prosperous, thriving.[2]
  • c. 1384 – noun, a decoration, an embellishment.[2][7]
  • c. 1400 – adjective, blossoming, growing vigorously.[2][3]
  • before 1552 – of style, florid, embellished.[2]
  • 1555 – vigorous, in the bloom of youth or health.[2]
  • 1616 – of persons, boastful, swaggering.[2]
  • 1859 – of writing, ornamented with flourishes.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Thriving or prospering; doing well: a flourishing market town.[8][9][2]
  2. Growing strongly and healthily: flourishing vines along the wall.[9][2]
  3. Of style, florid or highly embellished.[2][3]

Noun

  1. The action of the verb flourish, in its various senses.[2][7]
  2. A decoration or embellishment.[2][7][5]

Word family

  • flourishingly
  • unflourishing

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  5. ^ a b c d e Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
  6. ^ a b Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
  7. ^ a b c d e Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
Cite this entry

“Flourishing.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/flourishing. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·