Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A flower or small bunch of flowers worn in a buttonhole.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A small flower or bunch of flowers worn in a buttonhole or pinned to the lapel of a jacket.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French boutonnière, from Old French, buttonhole, from bouton, button; see button.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French boutonnière

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Examples

  • "She always checked that I wore what she called a boutonniere, and that I had ash on my forehead on Ash Wednesday."

    Home/News 2010

  • Suddenly, benign words like "boutonniere" and "function hall" have the power to bring Andy to his knees but not, unfortunately, in the proposal position.

    Get Real Men Of Steel! 2008

  • Many colleges and universities of America consider music as a kind of boutonniere ....

    Edward MacDowell Porte, John F 1922

  • If a man were a quitter, and gave a speech in that situation, he wouldn't be wearing a boutonniere.

    Court: Palin was allowed to use private e-mail 2009

  • Rico Rodriguez, the 12-year-old actor who plays the young, precocious Manny on "Modern Family," was cradling his like a baby and had attached his white boutonniere to it.

    Social Networking at SAG Marshall Heyman 2011

  • Carnations showed up regularly in works of art and literature in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries; the fr illy boutonniere-favorite was considered important enough to warrant a mention by Shakespeare ( "Love's Labour's Lost") and a depiction by da Vinci ( "Madonna With the Carnation," 1475, currently hanging in a German museum).

    What in Carnation? Lettie Teague 2010

  • He was nattily dressed in a waistcoat and tails, with a boutonniere and spats on his shoes.

    The Dragon’s Apprentice James A. Owen 2010

  • It is unbearable to plan for my brother to give me away, to tell the florist that we do not need a boutonniere for my father, and to tell the DJ that there will be no father-daughter dance.

    Ahmadinejad, Let My Father Go! 2010

  • He was nattily dressed in a waistcoat and tails, with a boutonniere and spats on his shoes.

    The Dragon’s Apprentice James A. Owen 2010

  • Rivera carried a bouquet of white roses, and Ortiz wore a matching white rose boutonniere.

    No Gay Marriage, But Domestic Partners Now Get Ceremonies In NYC 2010

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