Nonfloral

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not having the qualities of flowers, or not decorated with or consisting of floral designs
2. Lacking any connection to flowers, blossoms, or the botanical forms and patterns associated with them
3. Describing something that is free of flower imagery, flower parts, or a flowery character

Etymology: "Nonfloral" is a plain formation: the prefix "non-", meaning "not", attached to "floral," the adjective meaning "of or relating to flowers." Together they describe something free of blossoms or not characterised by flowers, as in a fragrance without floral notes or a landscape with no blooms. "Floral" itself comes from the Latin "flos," meaning "flower," which gave English a whole family of flower words, including "flora" for the plants of a region. The "-al" ending turns the noun into an adjective, so "floral" has been a description of blossoms since its formation in English. The "non-" prefix is one of the most productive in English, and it is attached freely to adjectives like this one, so "nonfloral" needs no special history of its own. It is a transparent compound whose meaning is simply the sum of its two parts.

Antonyms: floral