Definition

1. Noun:
   • A young girl who carries flowers in a wedding procession: A child, typically dressed formally, who walks ahead of the bride in a wedding ceremony, scattering flower petals or simply holding a bouquet.
   • A woman who sells flowers in the street: A vendor, usually female, who sells cut flowers or bouquets from a stall or basket in a public area.

Usage Examples

• Noun (wedding attendant):

  • My niece was the flower girl at her aunt's wedding.
  • The flower girl practiced scattering rose petals down the aisle.

• Noun (street vendor):

  • The flower girl on the corner sells the freshest tulips.
  • He bought a bouquet from a flower girl near the subway station.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically to describe someone who is innocent, delicate, or associated with beauty and nature, though this is less common.
  • In the novel, the young heroine is portrayed as a fragile flower girl of the countryside.

Variants and Related Words

• Flower child (noun): A person, especially of the 1960s counterculture, who advocates love, peace, and simple idealistic values. (Note: This is a distinct compound term).
• Florist (noun): A professional shopkeeper or designer who arranges and sells flowers.

Synonyms

• For the wedding role: flower maiden, petal girl (less common).
• For the vendor: flower seller, florist (though "florist" typically implies a shop).

Related Phrases

• To be a flower girl: To perform the role of a flower girl in a wedding.
  • She was so excited to be a flower girl for the first time.

Related Idioms

• While not a direct idiom, the image of a "flower girl" is sometimes evoked in phrases describing purity, innocence, or a connection to nature.
  • She moved through the garden with the grace of a flower girl. (This is a stylistic comparison, not a fixed idiom).

Noun

1. a young girl who carries flowers in a (wedding) procession
2. a woman who sells flowers in the street