gillyflower Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun any of several Old World plants cultivated for their brightly colored flowers
    stock.
  2. noun Eurasian plant with pink to purple-red spice-scented usually double flowers; widely cultivated in many varieties and many colors
    Dianthus caryophyllus; clove pink; carnation.

WordNet

Gil"ly*flow`er noun
Etymology
OE. gilofre, gilofer, clove, OF. girofre, girofle, F. girofle: cf. F. giroflée gillyflower, fr. girofle, Gr. clove tree; nut + leaf, akin to E. foliage. Cf. Caryophyllus, July-flower.
Definitions
(Bot.)
  1. A name given by old writers to the clove pink (Dianthus Caryophyllus) but now to the common stock (Matthiola incana), a cruciferous plant with showy and fragrant blossoms, usually purplish, but often pink or white.
  2. A kind of apple, of a roundish conical shape, purplish red color, and having a large core. Written also gilliflower.

Webster 1913