blossom

Meanings

Noun

• A flower, especially one indicating that a fruit tree is fruiting; a mass of such flowers.
• The state or season of producing such flowers.
• A blooming period or stage of development; something lovely that gives rich promise.
• The colour of a horse that has white hairs intermixed with sorrel and bay hairs.

Verb

• To have, or open into, blossoms; to bloom.
• To begin to thrive or flourish.

Related

Similar words

• bloom, come into bloom, come into blossom, flower
• bloom, flourish, grow, prosper, thrive

Origin

• From Middle English blosme, from Old English blōstm, blōstma, from Proto-Germanic *blōsmaz (compare West Frisian blossem, bloesem), an enlargement of *blōstaz (compare German Blust), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-s- ("bloom#Noun"), from *bʰleh₃-. Cognate with Albanian bleron ("to blossom, to thrive"), Latin flōs ("flower"), Flōra. See more at [[blow#Etymology_4 (etymology 4).