deflower

deflower
deflower late 14c., "deprive (a maiden) of her virginity," also "excerpt the best parts of (a book)," from O.Fr. desflorer (13c., Mod.Fr. déflorer) "to deflower (a garden); to take the virginity of," from L.L. deflorare, from de- (see DE- (Cf. de-)) + flos "flower" (see FLORA (Cf. flora)). Notion is "to strip of flowers," hence "to ravish," which is the oldest sense in English.
The French Indians are said not to have deflowered any of our young women they captivated. [James Adair, "The Life of an Indian Trader," London, 1775]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • deflower — de*flow er, v. t. [Previously also spelled {deflour}.] [imp. & p. p. {Deflowered}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Deflowering}.] [F. d[ e]florer, LL. deflorare; L. de + flos, floris, flower. See {Flower}, and cf. {Deflorate}.] 1. To deprive of flowers. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • deflower — index dishonor (deprive of honor) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • deflower — [v] ravish; take away beauty assault, defile, deflorate, depredate, desecrate, despoil, devour, force, harm, have, mar, molest, outrage, possess, ravage, ravish, ruin, seduce, spoil, violate; concept 375 …   New thesaurus

  • deflower — ► VERB dated or literary ▪ deprive (a woman) of her virginity …   English terms dictionary

  • deflower — [dē flou′ər] vt. [ME deflouren < OFr desflorer < L deflorare < de , from + flos (gen. floris), FLOWER] 1. to make (a woman) no longer a virgin 2. to ravage or spoil 3. to remove flowers from (a plant) …   English World dictionary

  • deflower — UK [diːˈflaʊə(r)] / US [dɪˈflaʊr] verb [transitive] Word forms deflower : present tense I/you/we/they deflower he/she/it deflowers present participle deflowering past tense deflowered past participle deflowered literary to have sex with a woman… …   English dictionary

  • deflower —    to copulate with (a female virgin)    OED gives a 14th century quotation from Wyclif in this sense and Shakespeare speaks of A deflower d maid (Measure for Measure).    The imagery of plucking a bloom can refer to the loss of the maidenhead… …   How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms

  • deflower — transitive verb Etymology: Middle English deflouren, from Middle French or Late Latin; Old French desflorer, from Late Latin deflorare, from Latin de + flor , flos flower more at blow Date: 14th century 1. to deprive of virginity 2. to take away… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • deflower — deflowerer, n. /di flow euhr/, v.t. 1. to deprive (a woman) of virginity. 2. to despoil of beauty, freshness, sanctity, etc. 3. to deprive or strip of flowers: The deer had deflowered an entire section of the garden. [1350 1400; ME deflouren < OF …   Universalium

  • deflower — verb To take the virginity of a woman or girl …   Wiktionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”