Definitions

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

  • noun Any of several coral trees, especially Erythrina fusca or E. poeppigiana.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any one of the flowers commonly called everlasting, or a wreath made of such flowers.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) A plant with a conspicuous, dry, unwithering involucre, as the species of Antennaria, Helichrysum, Gomphrena, etc. See everlasting.

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

  • noun Any of various papery flowers, often dried and used as decoration.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun mostly widely cultivated species of everlasting flowers having usually purple flowers; southern Europe to Iran; naturalized elsewhere

Etymologies

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

[French, from feminine of immortel, immortal, from Old French; see immortal.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French (fleur) immortelle.

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Examples

  • A milder form of sorrow finds its inexpensive and lasting remembrancer in the coarse and ugly but indestructible 'immortelle' -- which is a wreath or cross or some such emblem, made of rosettes of black linen, with sometimes a yellow rosette at the conjunction of the cross's bars -- kind of sorrowful breast-pin, so to say.

    Life on the Mississippi, Part 9. Mark Twain 1872

  • A milder form of sorrow finds its inexpensive and lasting remembrancer in the coarse and ugly but indestructible 'immortelle' -- which is a wreath or cross or some such emblem, made of rosettes of black linen, with sometimes a yellow rosette at the conjunction of the cross's bars -- kind of sorrowful breast-pin, so to say.

    Life on the Mississippi Mark Twain 1872

  • A milder form of sorrow finds its inexpensive and lasting remembrancer in the coarse and ugly but indestructible 'immortelle' -- which is a wreath or cross or some such emblem, made of rosettes of black linen, with sometimes a yellow rosette at the conjunction of the cross's bars -- kind of sorrowful breast-pin, so to say.

    Life on the Mississippi 1870

  • As I wore it, what I later came to know as immortelle became bewitching: alternating between toasty caramel and deep, peaty smoky scotch.

    Archive 2007-04-01 Marina Geigert 2007

  • The pumpkin is discernible and fleshy and the immortelle is a whisper.

    Perfume-Smellin' Things Perfume Blog 2010

  • Delicately and gradually its pressed petals expanded, .. its golden corolla brightened in hue, .. a subtle, sweet odor permeated the air, .. and soon the angelic "immortelle" of the Field of Ardath shone wondrously as a white star in the quiet room.

    Ardath Marie Corelli 1889

  • What isn't listed is immortelle, but if it's not in there then the clove, patch and vanilla serve to do a damned fine imitation.

    Washington Tremlett Clove Absolute: Perfume Review Marina Geigert 2009

  • What isn't listed is immortelle, but if it's not in there then the clove, patch and vanilla serve to do a damned fine imitation.

    Archive 2009-05-01 Marina Geigert 2009

  • For the phobic this doesn't translate to Sables, who some find life-threateningly cloying- the imitation immortelle along with the thoroughgoing clove just makes one want to lean in and sniff.

    Washington Tremlett Clove Absolute: Perfume Review Marina Geigert 2009

  • For the phobic this doesn't translate to Sables, who some find life-threateningly cloying- the imitation immortelle along with the thoroughgoing clove just makes one want to lean in and sniff.

    Archive 2009-05-01 Marina Geigert 2009

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