floriography
/ˌflɒɹiˈɑɡɹəfi/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
24
Scrabble Score
12
Letters
5
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Communication through the use of flowers, with different types of flowers having particular symbolic meanings.
Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Floriography is a science that requires but little study. Some flowers almost bear written upon their upturned faces the thoughts of which they are living representatives."
- "Time was, the author assures us, "when no gallant knight or gentle dame could aspire to good breeding unless perfectly conversant with floriography.""
- "Victorians also gloried in "floriography", or written alphabets of flowers that assigned each flower a certain quality, such as friendship, hope, or gratitude."
- "Floriography became popular in Victorian times when strict etiquette didn't allow women to express their feelings freely. So they did it coyly, using the silent language of flowers to express their sentiments to their admirers, and vice versa."
- "Just as many cultures help create the global economy, so do countless floriographies manifest peribology."
- "Floriography was popular in Victorian times. Bouquets called tussy-mussies were sent as coded messages, allowing the sender to express feelings that couldn't be spoken aloud. You could say almost anything with flowers, in the right combination."
Etymology
From Latin flōris + English -o- + -graphy (suffix indicating something represented in the specified manner). Flōris is the genitive singular of flōs (“blossom, flower”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- (“blossom, flower”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌflɒɹiˈɑɡɹəfi/
- British English: /ˌflɔːɹiˈɒɡɹəfi/