posy

English

ring with the French posy prenes[z] en gré (“accept this with gratitude”), 16th c.

Etymology

Shortening of poesy (“poetry”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈpəʊzi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpoʊzi/
• Rhymes: -əʊzi

Noun

posy (plural posies)

1. A flower; a small bouquet; a nosegay. [from 1570s]
   • c. 1587, Christopher Marlowe, The Passionate Shepherd to His Love:

     And I will make thee beds of roses, / And a thousand fragrant posies;

   • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:

     'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.

2. (archaic) A verse of poetry, especially a motto or an inscription on a ring. [from early 15th c.]
   • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 267, column 2:

     Is this a Prologue, or the Poeſie of a Ring?

Derived terms

• posy sniffer
• posy ring

Translations

A flower

• Bulgarian: китка (bg) f (kitka), букет (bg) m (buket)
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: ruiker (nl), boeket (nl)
• German: Blumensträußchen n
• Icelandic: blómvöndur (is) m
• Irish: pósae m, triblid f
• Italian: mazzo di fiori m, mazzolino m, mazzetto m
• Russian: буке́т (ru) m (bukét)
• Telugu: మంజరి (te) (mañjari)

See also

• nosegay
• corsage
• bouquet

Further reading

• “posy”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• -opsy, Pyos, YOPs, poys, yops