(Botany)the seed-bearing part of a plant, consisting of reproductive organs (stamens and carpels) that are typically surrounded by a brightly coloured corolla (petals) and a green calyx (sepals) (植)花 ■a brightly coloured and conspicuous example of such a part of a plant together with its stalk, typically used with others as a decoration or gift (作装饰或礼物用的带枝干的)花 ■[mass noun]the state or period in which a plant's flowers have developed and opened 开花(期) the roses were just coming into flower. 玫瑰开始开花了。 ■(Brit. informal)used as a friendly form of address, especially to a young girl or woman (英,非正式)姑娘(尤用于友好地称呼女孩或年轻妇女) ‘course you have, flower.’. “当然你有,姑娘。”。
verb
[no obj.](of a plant) produce flowers; bloom (植物)开花 Michaelmas daisies can flower as late as October. 紫菀甚至迟至10月也能开花。 ■(figurative)be in or reach an optimum stage of development; develop fully and richly (喻)成熟;盛行,繁荣兴旺 she flowered into as striking a beauty as her mother. 她长成跟她妈妈一样的美人。 [as noun flowering]the flowering of Viennese intellectual life. 维也纳学术生活的繁荣兴盛。 ■[with obj.]induce (a plant) to produce flowers 使(植物)开花
常用词组 the flower of
the finest individuals out of a number of people or things 精英,优秀分子;精华,最好的部分 he wasted the flower of French youth on his dreams of empire. 为实现帝国之梦,他荒废了法国的青年精英。
派生 flowerless adjective flower-like adjective 语源
Middle English flour, from Old French flour, flor, from Latin flos, flor-. The original spelling was no longer in use by the late 17th cent. except in its specialized sense 'ground grain' (see flour)