blossom
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈblɒs.əm/
ipa: /ˈblɑ.səm/
ipa: /ˈblɔs.əm/
rhymes: -ɒsəm
rhymes: -ɑsəm
Forms: form: blossoms
form: blossoming
form: blossomed
form: blossomed
Etymology: From Middle English blosme, from Old English blostm, blostma, from Proto-Germanic *blōstmô (compare West Frisian blossem, Dutch bloesem; related to *blōstaz [compare German Blust]), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-s- (“bloom, flower”), from *bʰleh₃- (“to bloom, to thrive”). Cognate with Albanian bleron (“to blossom, to thrive”), Latin flōs (“flower”), Flōra (“goddess of plants”). See more at blow (etymology 4).
Senses: examples: text: ANd the Loꝛde ſpake vnto Moſes ſayenge: ſpeake vnto the childern of Iſrael and take of them / foꝛ euery pꝛyncypall houſſe a rod / of their pꝛinces ouer the houſſes of their fathers: euen .xij. roddes / and wꝛyte euery mans name apon his rod. […] And his rod whom I choſe / ſhall bloſſome: So I wyll make ceaſe from me the grudgynges of the childern of Iſrael which they grudge agenſt you.
ref: 1530 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), W[illiam] T[yndale], transl., [The Pentateuch] (Tyndale Bible), Malborow [Marburg], Hesse: […] Hans Luft [actually Antwerp: Johan Hoochstraten], →OCLC, Numeri xvij:[1–2 and 5], folio xxxiiij, verso:
text: The Utricularia vulgaris or bladder-wort, a yellow pea-like flower, has blossomed in stagnant pools.
ref: 1851 June 22, Henry D[avid] Thoreau, edited by H[arrison] G[ray] O[tis] Blake, Summer: From the Journal of Henry D. Thoreau, London: T. Fisher Unwin, […], published 1884, →OCLC, page 210:
glosses: To have, or open into, blossoms; to bloom.
examples: text: A quiet, studious man, rich in the wisdom that is better than learning, the charity which calls all mankind "brother," the piety that blossoms into character, making it august and lovely.
ref: 1869, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Gossip”, in Little Women: […], 2nd part, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC, page 5:
text: Since I came back from Pomona I have done many drawings to illustrate the Inferno of Dante [Alighieri] and I find my old Italian love blossoming all over again for this greatest of all master poets, bar none.
ref: 1961 January 30, Rico Lebrun, “New Haven · Capri · Rome (1958–1960) [To David Lebrun from Los Angeles, January 30, 1961]”, in James Renner, David Lebrun, editors, In the Meridian of the Heart: Selected Letters of Rico Lebrun, Boston, Mass.: David R. Godine, […], published 2000, →ISBN, page 66:
text: In February, Mswati announced that he had recovered from Covid-19 after undergoing treatment “for a couple of days” with an undisclosed antiviral medication from Taiwan. Eswatini enjoys a blossoming diplomatic tie with Taiwan — currently the East Asian country’s only ally in Africa.
ref: 2021 June 29, Nimi Princewill and Stephanie Busari, “Officials deny King of Eswatini – Africa’s lone absolute monarch – has fled”, in CNN:
glosses: To begin to thrive or flourish.
Synonyms: sense: have, or open into, blossoms
word: bloom
sense: have, or open into, blossoms
word: come into bloom
sense: have, or open into, blossoms
word: come into blossom
sense: have, or open into, blossoms
word: flower
sense: begin to thrive or flourish
word: bloom
sense: begin to thrive or flourish
word: flourish
sense: begin to thrive or flourish
word: grow
sense: begin to thrive or flourish
word: prosper
sense: begin to thrive or flourish
word: thrive
Derived terms: blossom forth
blossomingly
outblossom
unblossomed
unblossoming