bachelor's button Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an annual Eurasian plant cultivated in North America having showy heads of blue or purple or pink or white flowers
    cornflower; Centaurea cyanus; bluebottle.
  2. noun tropical American herb having rose to red or purple flowers that can be dried without losing color
    globe amaranth; Gomphrena globosa.

WordNet

Bach"e*lor's but"ton
Definitions
  1. , (Bot.) A plant with flowers shaped like buttons; especially, several species of Ranunculus, and the cornflower (Centaures cyanus) and globe amaranth (Gomphrena). ✍ Bachelor's buttons, a name given to several flowers "from their similitude to the jagged cloathe buttons, anciently worne in this kingdom", according to Johnson's Gerarde, p.472 (1633); but by other writers ascribed to "a habit of country fellows to carry them in their pockets to divine their success with their sweethearts." Dr. Prior.

Webster 1913