LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · masculinethird declension

flōs

flōs m (genitive flōris)
Classical[ˈfɫoːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈflɔs]
№ 818 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. flower, blossom
    ferte deae flōrēs: gaudet flōrentibus herbīs haec deaBring flowers for the goddess; this goddess takes pleasure in flowering plants.8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 3.253–254
    Invitent croceis [apes] halantes floribus horti Et custos furum atque avium cum falce salignaMay gardens bright, fragrant with flower, lure them [the bees] and Hellespontian Priap with his willow scythe the robbing bee and the birds keep away.c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 4.109–111
  2. figurativelythe best kind or part of something
  3. figurativelythe prime; best state of things
  4. figurativelyan ornament or embellishment

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

pulchra pars plantae, quae colōrēs habet; rosa et līlium flōrēs sunt.
flōs flōris m — in Mille Verba, Arborēs et Plantae

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeflōsflōrēs
genitiveflōrisflōrum
dativeflōrīflōribus
accusativeflōremflōrēs
ablativeflōreflōribus
vocativeflōsflōrēs

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

flos aetatis
the prime of youthful vigour.
odores, qui efflantur e floribus
the perfume exhaled by flowers.
laetissimi flores (Verr. 4. 48. 107)
a glorious expanse of flowers.
lumina, flores dicendi (De Or. 3. 25. 96)
flowers of rhetoric; embellishments of style.

flōs, ōris, m. root fla-; Gr. ἐκ-φλαίνω, to stream forth; cf. φλασμός; Lat. flare, flamen, etc., v. flo,
I. a blossom, flower.
I. Lit.: suaves flores, Lucr. 1, 8: juvat novos decerpere flores, id. 1, 928: novi, Hor. C. 4, 1, 32: recentes, id. ib. 3, 27, 44: verni, id. ib. 2, 11, 9: florum omnium varietas, Cic. de Sen. 15, 54: suavitas odorum, qui afflarentur e floribus, id. ib. 17, 59: laetissimi flores, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 48, § 107: ninguntque rosarum Floribus, Lucr. 2, 628: flores rosae, rosarum, Hor. C. 2, 3, 14; 3, 29, 3; 4, 10, 4: piabunt floribus et vino Genium, id. Ep. 2, 1, 144; cf.: fons Bandusiae, dulci digne mero non sine floribus, id. C. 3, 13, 2: nitidum caput impedire myrto Aut flore, id. ib. 1, 4, 10: recte necne crocum floresque perambulet Attae Fabula, si dubitem, etc., the stage strewed with flowers, id. Ep. 2, 1, 79: carduus florem purpureum mittit inter medios aculeos, puts forth, Plin. 20, 23, 99, § 262; cf. id. 21, 6, 17, § 31: legere, Ov. M. 4, 315.—
B. Transf.
1. The honey of flowers sucked out by the bees: rure levis verno flores apis ingerit alveo, Conpleat ut dulci sedula melle favos, Tib. 2, 1, 49; Verg. G. 4, 39; Plin. 11, 7, 7, § 17.—
2. In gen., like the Gr. ἄνθος, for whatever forms either the best part or the highest part of a thing (mostly poet. and in postAug. prose).—
a. The flower of any thing, i. e. the prime or best part, also the best kind of any thing: postquam est honoratus frugum et floris Liberi, the bouquet or flavor of wine, Pac. ap. Non. 498, 12; so, vini (Bacchi), Plaut. Curc. 1, 2, 1; id. Cas. 3, 5, 16; Lucr. 3, 221.—The best kind of oil, Plin. 15, 6, 6, § 23; of wax, id. 21, 14, 49, § 84; of rosin, id. 14, 20, 25, § 124; of salt, id. 13, 1, 2, § 14; Cato, R. R. 88, 2; of meal, Plin. 18, 9, 20, § 86 et saep.; of cream, Vitr. 8, 3; of the finest dish: cenae, Favorin. ap. Gell. 15, 8, 2.—
b. The highest part, the top, crown, head of a thing.—Of the froth of wine, Cato, R. R. 11, 2; Col. 12, 30; Plin. 14, 21, 27, § 136.—The blisters, scales that are formed in smelting metals, id. 34, 11, 24, § 107; the upper dust of marble or gypsum, Col. 12, 20, 8.—Poet. of the first downy hairs of the beard: nunc primum opacat flore lanugo genas, Pac. ap. Paul. ex Fest. s. v. genas, p. 94 Müll. N. cr.; Verg. A. 8, 160; Luc. 6, 562: ante genas dulces quam flos juvenilis inumbret, Claud. in Prob. Cons. Pan. 69.—Donec flammai fulserunt flore coorto, a tip or flash of flame, Lucr. 1, 900.—
3. In archit., carved flowers placed as ornaments on a Corinthian capital, Vitr. 4, 1, 12; on a cupola, id. 4, 8.
II. Trop., the flower, crown, ornament of any thing (class.; a favorite flg. of Cic.).
A. In gen.: ea tempestate flos poëtarum fuit (Plautus), Plaut. Cas. prol. 18: sic omnis fetus repressus, exustusque siti flos veteris ubertatis exaruit, Cic. Brut. 4, 16: (Ennius) flos delibatus populi ... qua (eloquentia) virum excellentem praeclare tum illi homines florem populi esse dixerunt, id. ib. 15, 58 sq. (cf. Enn. Ann. v. 309 ed. Vahl.): flos nobilitatis ac juventutis, id. Phil. 2, 15, 37; so, legatorum, id. Fl. 26, 61: versaris in optimorum civium vel flore vel robore, id. Or. 10, 34; cf.: quod floris, quod roboris in juventute fuerat, amiserant, Liv. 37, 12, 7: ex morbo velut renovatus flos juventae, id. 28, 35, 7; 26, 2, 6; Curt. 3, 5, 8: provincia Galliae ... ille flos Italiae, illud firmamentum imperii populi Romani, illud ornamentum dignitatis, Cic. Phil. 3, 5, 13: flos dignitatis, id. Balb. 6, 15; cf.: ego te, Crasse, cum vitae flore, tum mortis opportunitate, divino consilio et ortum et exstinctum esse arbitror, splendor, glory, id. de Or. 3, 3, 12: in ipso Graeciae flore, in the very flower, the most flourishing condition, id. N. D. 3, 33, 82: flos aetatis, the flower of one's age, the prime of life, Lucr. 3, 770; 5, 847; cf.: non venirem contra gratiam, non virtutis spe, sed aetatis flore collectam, Cic. Phil. 2, 2, 3.— Without aetas: Pa. Anni? Ch. Anni? Sedecim. Pa. Flos ipse, Ter. Eun. 2, 3, 28: viridissimo flore puella, Cat. 17, 14: in flore primo tantae indolis juvenis exstinctus est, Plin. Ep. 5, 9, 5: in flore virium se credens esse, Liv. 42, 15, 2: primus flos animi, youthful vigor, Stat. Ach. 1, 625; but also: flos animi, ripe age, Sen. Ep. 26: videmus Vergilium ea de causa hortorum dotes fugisse, et e tantis, quae retulit, flores modo rerum decerpsisse, i. e. the choicest, best, Plin. H. N. 14 praef. § 7.—
2. Transf.: flos aetatis, maidenly or youthful innocence (of girls or boys), virginity: (virgo) cum castum amisit polluto corpore florem, Cat. 62, 46: Hasdrubal flore aetatis, uti ferunt, primo Hamilcari conciliatus, Liv. 21, 2, 3; cf. id. 21, 3, 4: florem aetatis (Caesaris) in Bithynia contaminatum, Suet. Caes. 49.—
B. In partic., of speech, a flower, embellishment, ornament: ut porro conspersa sit (oratio) quasi verborum sententiarumque floribus, etc., Cic. de Or. 3, 25, 96: flos aut lumen eloquentiae, id. Brut. 17, 66; cf.: nullus flos tamen neque lumen ullum (in M. Crassi oratione), id. ib. 66, 233: florem et colorem defuisse, id. ib. 87, 298: alia copia locuples, alia floribus laeta, Quint. 8, 3, 87: male audire ... nimiis floribus et ingenii affluentia, id. 12, 10, 13.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰleh₃-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰléh₃s
  3. Proto-Italic*flōs
  4. Latinflōs

A root noun interpreted as an s-stem noun, from Proto-Italic *flōs, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-s (“flower, blossom”), from *bʰleh₃- (“to bloom”). Cognates include Ancient Greek φύλλον (phúllon), Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐍉𐌼𐌰 (blōma) and Old English blōstm, blæd (“leaf”) (English blossom, blade).

Insular Romance
  • Sardinianfrore
  • Sardinianfiore
Southern Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanflorfrom Old Catalan flor
  • Occitanflorfrom Old Occitan flor
  • Gasconhlorfrom Old Occitan flor
  • Gasconehlorfrom Old Occitan flor
  • Gasconeslorfrom Old Occitan flor
Semi-learned
  • Spanishflorfrom Old Spanish flor
  • Englishflorfrom Old Spanish flor
  • Old Galician-Portugueseflor
  • Asturianflor
  • Cantabrianflor
  • Leoneseflor
  • Mirandeseflor
  • Ladinoflorfrom Old Spanish flor
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianfloare
  • Aromanianfloari
  • Megleno-Romanianfloari
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianfiore
  • Corsicanfiore
  • Istriotfiùr
  • Neapolitansciore
  • Maltesefjurfrom Sicilian ciuri
  • Dalmatianfiaurfrom Venetan fior
Borrowings
  • GermanFlorfrom Middle High German vlōr
  • Basquelore
  • Tachawittaflurt
  • Tuaregfələr
  • Idoflorofrom Esperanto floro
  • Interlinguaflor
  • TranslingualFlos
  • Volapükflor
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianflôr
  • Ladinfior
  • Ladinciüf
  • Ladinciof
  • Ladinciöf
  • Romanshflur
  • Romanshflura
  • Romanshflour
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianfiåur
  • Emilianfiur
  • Liguriansciô
  • Lombardfiuur
  • Lombardfiùu
  • Piedmontesefior
  • Romagnolfiôr
Northern Gallo-Romance
  • Franco-Provençalfllor
  • Old Frenchflor

Quick answers

What does flōs mean in Latin?
flōs, a noun, means “flower, blossom; the best kind or part of something; the prime”.
What is the genitive of flōs?
The genitive singular is flōris. flōs is masculine, third declension.
How do you pronounce flōs?
In classical Latin, [ˈfɫoːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈflɔs].
Where does flōs come from?
Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- → Proto-Indo-European *bʰléh₃s → Proto-Italic *flōs → Latin flōs.