floral English · revision 39675

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1647, R. Stapleton, translation of Juvenal|origins=la flōs}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈflɔːɹəl/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈfloɹəl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|flōrālis|t=of Flora]], from [[m|la|Flōra]], the goddess of flowers,^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(SOED 2002)^(Klein 1966) whose name comes from [[m|la|flōs|t=flower]];^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) Etymonline also names [[fr|floral]], recorded in the 16th century, as a source.^(Etymonline) For the sense "of flowers" the OED and the Shorter Oxford see a new formation on ''flōs'' itself,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) and the Oxford Dictionary of English derives the word from ''flōs'' and the English suffix [[-al]].^(ODE 2010) Etymonline and the American Heritage Dictionary trace ''flōs'' to the root [[ine-pro|*bʰel-|t=to thrive, bloom]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) and Skeat relates it to English [[blow]] and [[bloom]].^(Skeat 1911)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In ancient Rome, relating to or in honour of the goddess Flora (''floral shows'' rendering the Latin ''Floralia''): 1647, in Robert Stapleton's translation of Juvenal.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) Etymonline dates it to the 1640s,^(Etymonline) and Dictionary.com to 1640–50.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Johnson (1755) still defined the word as relating to Flora or to flowers, quoting Matthew Prior's "floral play".^(Johnson 1755) The sense "of or relating to flowers", now the main one, is recorded from 1753, in the Supplement to Chambers's ''Cyclopædia'';^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the Oxford Dictionary of English dates the word itself to the mid 18th century.^(ODE 2010) "Relating to a flora", the plants of a region, followed in 1870,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) after ''flora'' had been used in that sense.^(Etymonline) A noun ''floral'', a dancer at the Floralia, appears once, in Richard Lovelace (a1657);^(OED 2026) the modern noun, a fabric with a flower pattern, dates from 1897, in a Sears, Roebuck catalogue.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) ''Floral dance'' is a name for the Furry Dance of Helston in Cornwall, recorded from 1911.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1647 – relating to the goddess Flora.^(OED 2026)

+ * a1657 – noun, a dancer at the Floralia; obsolete.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1753 – of or relating to flowers.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1870 – relating to a flora.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1897 – noun, a fabric with a floral design.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1911 – ''floral dance'', the Furry Dance of Helston.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of, relating to or made of [[flower|alt=flowers]]: ''a floral arrangement''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Decorated with flowers or a pattern of flowers: ''a floral dress''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(botany)'' Of or relating to a [[flora]], the plants of a region or period.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A design, or a fabric or garment, with a pattern of flowers.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[florally]]

+ * [[extrafloral]]

+ * [[floral envelope]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[flora]]

+ * [[flower]]

+ * [[flourish]]

+ * [[florid]]

+ * [[florist]]

+ * [[bloom]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}