Etymologically
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flourishing

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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