Flourished

How to spell flourished

10 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce flourished

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does flourished mean?

1. verbGrew vigorously or prospered over a period of time.
2. verbWaved or held something up dramatically to draw attention.

Flourished in a sentence

• The small bakery flourished once it moved to the high street.

• The auctioneer flourished the gavel before announcing the final bid.

• Under the new manager, staff morale flourished within months.

• She flourished the winning ticket above her head in the crowded hall.

Where does flourished come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin florere, meaning 'to bloom' or 'to flower', which itself grew from flos (stem floris), the Latin word for a flower. Old French turned the verb into florir, and in its lengthened stem forms such as floriss- it passed into Middle English during the 1300s as 'florisshen', meaning to blossom and, by extension, to thrive or prosper. The original botanical image of a plant in full bloom is exactly why we still say a business or a career 'flourished'. A separate sense, to wave something boldly in the air, developed from the idea of decorative embellishment, the showy flourishes added to handwriting or trumpet fanfares. The 'ou' spelling, which trips many adults, reflects the French route into English rather than the bare Latin 'o', and it is the same vowel pattern seen in 'nourish' and 'flour'.

How the word is built

• flour- (from Latin flos, floris: flower)
• -ish (verb-forming suffix via French)
• -ed (past tense)