Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FLOUR, n. [originally flower; Fr. fleur; Sp. flor; It. fiore; L. flos, floris, from floreo, to flourish.]

The edible part of corn; meal. Johnson. In the United States, the modern practice is to make a distinction between flour and meal; the word flour being more usually applied to the finer part of meal, separated from the bran, as wheat flour, rye flour. This is a just and useful distinction.