Where does “flowery” come from?
Flowery comes from Middle English floury, formed with the Middle English suffix -y from Middle French flour (flower) via Old French flor, ultimately from Latin flōs, flōris, derived from Proto-Indo-European bʰel- meaning to swell or bloom.
flowery (English): Pertaining to flowers; Decorated with or abundant...
Definitions
- Pertaining to flowers; Decorated with or abundant...
Ancestry of “flowery”, step by step
flowery traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English flower
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | flower | A colorful, conspicuous structure associated with... |
| 2 | Middle English | flour | A flower; A depiction or likeness of a flower;... |
| 3 | Anglo-Norman | flur | Alternative form of flor |
| 4 | Old French | flor | flower |
| 5 | Latin | flōs | flower, blossom |
| 6 | Proto-Italic | flōs | flower, blossom |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃-s | flower, blossom |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |
via Middle English floury
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | floury | Covered in flowers or representations of them;... |