floreo

Forms

flōreō (present infinitive flōrēre, perfect active flōruī); second conjugation, no passive, no supine stem^[1] An inscription has the perfect flōrīvit.^[2]

Etymology

It is formed from flōs (“flower”) with the suffix -eō.^[2][3] De Vaan traces ⟨flōs⟩ to Proto-Italic *flōs (“flower”) and Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-ōs (“blossoming”), cognate with Old Irish bláth (“flower”), Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐍉𐌼𐌰 (blōma, “flower”) and Old High German bluowen (“to bloom”).^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan's first author is Cato, who writes of the pomegranate ubi flōrēbit, “when it blooms”.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

It is to bloom or blossom, and of ground to be covered with flowers, as Virgil's field heavy with the vintage.^[2] With an ablative it is to be bright or decked with something: Cato already says one could see the sea bloom with sails, and Cicero that the houses of lawyers flourished with famous pupils.^[2] Of wine it is to grow a film of mould, of a young man's cheeks to be covered with the first down, and Gellius uses it of a mind elated with wine.^[2] Above all it is to prosper or flourish, of persons, cities and arts, to be in the flower of youth (Virgil's flōrentēs aetātibus), and to be at the height of one's powers, Cicero uses it of orators who were active in Cato's lifetime.^[2]

Church Latin glosses it “flower, bloom, flourish, prosper”.^[5]

Timeline

• 234–149 BC – Cato of the pomegranate in bloom and of a sea in bloom with sails.^[4][2][6]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero of people and arts that flourish.^[2][6]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil of fields and of youth in flower.^[2][6]
• 43 BC–18 AD – Ovid of wine growing a film.^[2][6]

Meanings

Verb

1. To bloom, blossom, flower; to be covered with flowers.^[2][1][5]
2. To be bright, shine (with); to be richly adorned (with).^[2][1]
3. (of wine) To grow a film on the surface, (of cheeks) to grow the first down.^[2][1]
4. To flourish, prosper; to be in the flower of youth; to be at the height of one's powers.^[2][1][5]

Word family

• dēflōreō
• efflōreō
• flōrēscō
• flōridus
• flōritiō
• praeflōreō
• reflōreō
• flōrēns
• flōrenter

Related words

• flōs
• Flōra

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
5. ^ a b c Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
6. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de