wallflower means any of several short-lived herbs or shrubs of the Erysimum genus with bright yellow to red flowers.
wallflower is pronounced /ˈwɔːlˌflaʊ.ə/.
Why “wallflower” is a great word
A person who, due to shyness or unpopularity, remains on the sidelines at a social gathering, especially one who does not dance. From the English words 'wall' and 'flower', a compound formed within English. The botanical sense is first recorded in the 1570s; the figurative social sense is first attested around 1820. Unlike an “introvert” (which describes a fundamental personality orientation) or a “spectator” (which implies a chosen, interested observance), a wallflower is defined by a visible, passive stillness imposed by the group. It is the young man whose tie loosens as the evening progresses and he remains unclaimed; the faint scent of perfume unmixed by sweat; the warmth of a body leaning close enough to feel the pulse of music through the floorboards—a portrait of quiet exclusion, rooted against the stone, living proof that beauty and neglect can occupy the same narrow space.
Etymology
From wall + flower.
noun
- Any of several short-lived herbs or shrubs of the Erysimum genus with bright yellow to red flowers.e.g.“A polypetalous corolla is either cruciform, as in a wall-flower, rosaceous, papilionaceous, as in the pea kind, or incomplete, when some parts found in analogous flowers are wanting.” — 1809, William Nicholson, “BOTANY”, in The British Encyclopedia, or Dictionary of Arts and Sciences; […], volume I (A … B), London: Printed by C[harles] Whittingham, […]; for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and
- Gastrolobium grandiflorum, a poisonous bushy shrub, endemic to Australia.
- A person who does not dance at a party, due to shyness or unpopularity; by extension, anyone who is left on the sidelines while an activity takes place.e.g.“Mrs. Galbraith shook all over with laughter as she replied, "Hear that boy, asking me to dance ! I'm content to be a wallflower, now-a-days."” — 1878, Fannie Bean, Dr. Mortimer's Patient: A Novel, page 23:
- Any person who is socially awkward, shy, or reserved.e.g.“I've always been a wallflower, even in my own home. But, I'm willing to learn to be a part of your world. I would like to. I have already told my parents that I want to go to soirées.” — 2019, Liz Tyner, To Win a Wallflower, Harlequin, →ISBN:
verb
- To stand shyly apart from a dance, waiting to be asked to join in.e.g.“[…] the idea that a full tango experience is impossible without the presence of wallflowers and without the threat of wallflowering as the potential dancers enter the tango club.” — 2010, Alexandra Carter, Janet O'Shea, The Routledge Dance Studies Reader, page 237:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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