Emily Dickinson Lexicon

florid, adj. [L. 'to bloom'.]

Blooming; spotted; speckled; [fig.] busy; active; occupied; enriched with details.

floss, n. [Poss. from OFr flosche, down, pile of velvet; cf. L. flos, flower.]

1. Down; woven filaments; soft strands of a spider web; [word play on “Flower” and “Floss”] bloom; blossom; silky substance in the husks of certain plants.
2. Fiber from a silkworm; material which forms a cocoon, enveloping the caterpillar as it becomes a butterfly; [fig.] metamorphosis.
3. Silk; fragile strand; delicate filament; fine breakable thread.

flourish (-ing), v. [OFr floriss < L. flos, flower.] (webplay: figure).

Thriving; prosperous; increasing; making a show.

flow (-ed, -ing, -s), v. [L. fluo, to blow or fly.]

1. Spread; spill over; move like a stream.
2. Be full; carry abundant liquid; issue out from in a fluid manner.

flower (-s, -'s), n. [ME < L. flōs, bloom; see bloom, n., blossom, n., blow, v².]

1. Blossom; bloom.
2. Spring; season of growth; time of renewal; [fig.] resurrection; restoration; hope of eternal life.
3. Passing thing; transient entity; short-lived object; ephemeral creature.
4. Pressed blossom; dried garden bloom included in correspondence.
5. Bud; start; shoot; young plant that shows its petals by day and retracts them by night.
6. Corsage; cut blossom; floral gift; [fig.] lyric poem.
7. Feeling; emotion; affection.
8. Pastoral beauty; natural splendor; [fig.] April; springtime.
9. Bulb; perennial spring plant such as crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, etc.; [fig.] renewal; evidence of new life.
10. Thought; meditation; reflection; [fig.] poem; poetry; lyric; sentimental verse.
11. Colored portion of a plant consisting of stamens, pistils, corolla, and calyx; culminating beauty of a plant before going to fruit.
12. Sustenance; aliment; source of pollen; desired destination; center of soft sweet-smelling nourishment; [fig.] lover; sweetheart.
13. Kind of bloom; species of blossoming plant.
14. Gentian; butterfly bush; species of plant that has fragrant purple blossoms.
15. Floral tribute; [fig.] memorial; symbol of lasting devotion.
16. Corol; corona; floral disk; circumference of a blossom's petals; [fig.] globe; ball; [metaphor] moon.
17. Sweetheart; beloved; young woman in love.
18. Incarnation; embodiment; [fig.] resurrection; redeemed body; gloried and perfected being.
19. Beauty; lovely delicate fruitful living thing; [fig.] symbol of creation; sign of life, love, and goodness.
20. Sunset; colors of the setting sun.
21. Dandelion; daisy; [fig.] maid; gal; peasant girl; [metaphor] poet.
22. Phrase. “Couch of flowers”: blossoming meadow; [kenning] field; garden.

flown, verbal adj. [see fly, v.]

Scattered; spread; blown in the air.

fluctuate, v. [L. fluctuare, undulate.]

Shift in time; vacillate in understanding; move back and forth in meaning.

fluctuation, n. [see fluctuate.]

Vacillation; climate variation; multiple shifts in weather; wavering between winter and spring.

fluent, adj. [L.] Smoothly; fluidly in speech; correctly; with no errors; with mastery.

1. Flowing; circulating; coursing through the veins.
2. Liquid; running; fluid; smoothly streaming.
3. Mobile; agile; nimble; wakeless; continuous; uninterrupted; freely moving.

fluent, adv. [L.]

Smoothly; without hesitation; fluidly in speech.