mayflower
(ˈmeɪflaʊə(r))
[f. May n.3 + flower n. Cf. G. maiblume, Du. meibloem lily of the valley; so may-blossom (May n.3 5 c).]
1. A flower that blooms in May: used locally as a specific name for various plants, as the Cowslip (Primula veris), the Lady's Smock (Cardamine pratensis); see Britten & Holland Plant-n.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §507 They are commonly of rancke and fulsome Smell; As May-Flowers, and White Lillies. [1659 Howell Prov. 12/1 April showers bring forth May flowers.] 1688 R. Holme Armoury ii. 70 The Cowslip..we call it a May-flower. 1776 Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad i. 24 May-flowers crouding o'er the daisy-lawn. 1817 Keats ‘I stood tiptoe’ 29 A bush of May-flowers with the bees about them. 1853 G. Johnston Bot. E. Bord. 33 Cardamine pratensis... In Roxburghshire..it is called the May-flower. |
| fig. 1576 Gascoigne Steele Glass (Arb.) 119, I hope very shortly to see the May flowers of your fauour. |
2. A variety of apple.
| 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. Aug. 72 Apples... Cushion Apple, Spicing, May-flower. |
3. N. Amer. a. Azalea nudiflora.
b. The trailing arbutus,
Epigæa repens.
| 1838 Loudon Arboretum II. 1140 Rhododendron nudiflorum Torr. (Azalea nudiflora L.)..the American Honeysuckle; May Flowers. 1853 W. H. Bartlett Pilgr. Fathers iii. 182 The beautiful May-flower—with its delicate roseate blossom and delicious scent. 1882 Garden 13 May 323/1 The May-flower..is the emblem of Nova Scotia, with the motto, ‘We bloom amid the snow’. |
4. The West Indian
Dalbergia Brownei and
Ecastaphyllum Brownei.
| 1864 Grisebach Flora W. Ind. 785. |
5. The South American
Lælia majalis.
| 1894 Wright & Dewar Johnson's Gard. Dict. |