flower-dwelling
|flow-er-dwell-ing|
🇺🇸
/ˈflaʊ.ɚˌdwɛl.ɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˈflaʊ.əˌdwɛl.ɪŋ/
live on flowers
Etymology
'flower-dwelling' is a Modern English compound formed from 'flower' + 'dwelling'. 'Flower' ultimately comes via Old French (fleur/ flor) from Latin 'flōs, flōris' meaning 'flower', and 'dwelling' is the present-participle/adjective form of 'dwell', from Old English 'dwelan/dwellan' meaning 'to remain, abide'.
'flower' evolved from Latin 'flōs' → Old French 'flor/fleur' → Middle English 'flour/flower'; 'dwell' comes from Old English 'dwelan' → Middle English 'dwellen' → modern English 'dwell'. The compound 'flower-dwelling' is a productive Modern English formation combining these elements to describe habitation on flowers.
The component words originally meant 'flower' and 'to remain/inhabit.' In their compound use, they now specifically describe organisms or behaviors 'living on or habitually occurring on flowers.'
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
an organism that lives on or is habitually found on flowers.
The study recorded several flower-dwellings on the sampled plants.
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Adjective 1
living on, inhabiting, or commonly found on flowers (used of animals, especially insects).
Many flower-dwelling bees are important pollinators.
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Last updated: 2026/01/14 13:57