Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

nosegay

07.15.2019 - By Merriam-WebsterPlay

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 15, 2019 is: nosegay \NOHZ-gay\ noun

: a small bunch of flowers : [posy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/posy)

Examples:

"On arrival, the Queen was presented with her traditional nosegay of fresh spring flowers…." — Robert Hardman, The Daily Mail (London), 19 Apr. 2019

"Many of the boys also were ordering nosegays or wrist [corsages](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/corsage) for their dates. 'I just had a group of three boys coming in with pictures on their phones of the girls' dresses,' [Megan] Mitchell said several days before the prom. The boys want the flowers to match the color of the dresses." — Kimberly Fornek, The Chicago Tribune, 6 May 2019

Did you know?

Nosegay is a homegrown word—that is, it originated in English. 15th-century Middle English speakers joined [nose](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nose) (which meant then what it does today) with [gay](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gay) (which, at the time, meant "ornament"). That makes nosegay an appropriate term for a bunch of flowers, which is indeed an ornament that appeals to the nose. Today, the word nosegay is especially common in the bridal business, where it usually refers to a specific type of [bouquet](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bouquet): a round, tight bunch of flowers as opposed to a cascading bouquet or other type of arrangement. Occasionally, the word is used metaphorically for things that somehow resemble a bouquet. For example, a compact collection of enjoyably lighthearted short stories might be called "a nosegay of a book."

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