flamboyant

English

flamboyant costumes worn during the Carnival period in Brazil

flamboyant or royal poinciana, a tropical tree

Flamboyant Gothic tracery

Alternative forms

• Flamboyant (architecture)

Etymology

Borrowed from French flamboyant (“flaming, wavy”), participle of flamboyer (“to flame”), from Old French flamboier, from flambe (“flame”). The architectural style derives its name from the flame-like shapes in the tracery.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /flamˈbɔɪ.ənt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /flæmˈbɔɪ.(j)ənt/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /flæmˈbɔɪ.(j)ənt/

  • Audio (AU)

    (file)

• Hyphenation: flam‧boy‧ant
• Rhymes: -ɔɪ.ənt

Adjective

flamboyant (comparative more flamboyant, superlative most flamboyant)

1. Showy, bold or audacious in behaviour, appearance, etc.
   • 1902, G. K. Chesterton, “The Optimism of Byron”, in Twelve Types:

     When we see some of the monstrous and flamboyant blossoms that enrich the equatorial woods, we do not feel that they are conflagrations of nature; silent explosions of her frightful energy. We simply find it hard to believe that they are not wax flowers grown under a glass case.

   • 1920, Frederic Taber Cooper, The Craftsmanship of Writing, Chapter VI: The Question of Clearness,

     But a scorn of flamboyant neckties and checkerboard trousers is no excuse for going to the opposite extreme of a blue flannel shirt and overalls; .

   • 1962 May 12, Douglas MacArthur, Duty, honor, country:

     The unbelievers will say they are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase.

   • 2023 June 12, Angela Giuffrida, Lorenzo Tondo, “Silvio Berlusconi, scandal-ridden former Italian prime minister, dies aged 86”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     Health of flamboyant media tycoon who led three Italian governments had deteriorated in recent years[.]

2. (architecture) Referring to the final stage of French Gothic architecture from the 14th to the 16th centuries.
   • 1891, Sabine Baring-Gould, chapter XIX, in In Troubadour-Land: A Ramble in Provence and Languedoc, Avignon:

     S. Pierre is a flamboyant church, the details passing into Renaissance.

   • 1911, “Bruges”, in Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition:

     The second is a chapel of two storeys, the lower dating from 1150, while the upper was rebuilt in the 15th century, and there is a rich Flamboyant entrance with a stairway (1533).

   • 1913, “Abbey of Saint-Ouen”, in Catholic Encyclopedia:

     The nave and central tower, more flamboyant in design, were finished early in the sixteenth century after the original plan.

3. Of a blade: forged in a wavy, undulating pattern, like a flame-bladed sword or a kris.

   Synonym: serpentine

   • 1851 April 12, William John Bernhard-Smith, Notes and Queries, volume s1-III, number 76, London: Bell & Daldy, →ISSN, page 292:

     Ancient swords were frequently “flamboyant,” or with waved edges; more especially those used for purposes of state. The Dukes of Burgundy bore a two-handed sword of this form. Indeed, “flaming swords,” as they were called, were worn down to the times of our Charles II., and perhaps later.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

flamboyant (plural flamboyants)

1. The royal poinciana (Delonix regia), a showy tropical tree.
   • 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter 45, in The Moon and Sixpence, : Grosset & Dunlap Publishers , →OCLC:

     The schooners moored to the quay are trim and neat, the little town along the bay is white and urbane, and the flamboyants, scarlet against the blue sky, flaunt their colour like a cry of passion.

Translations

Further reading

• flamboyant on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Delonix regia on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Danish

Etymology

Borrowed from French flamboyant (“flaming, wavy”), present participle of flamboyer (“to flame, blaze”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flamborjant/, or IPA^(key): /flamboajant/,

Adjective

flamboyant

1. flamboyant, magnificent, opulent

Inflection

Synonyms

• overdådig
• pragtfuld
• prægtig
• strålende

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /flɑ̃.bwa.jɑ̃/

• Audio

  (file)

Participle

flamboyant

1. present participle of flamboyer

Adjective

flamboyant (feminine flamboyante, masculine plural flamboyants, feminine plural flamboyantes)

1. flaming (also heraldry)
2. flamboyant

Descendants

• → Danish: flamboyant
• → English: flamboyant
• → German: flamboyant
• → Romanian: flamboiant

Noun

French Wikipedia has an article on:

flamboyant

Wikipedia ^fr

flamboyant m (plural flamboyants)

1. flamboyant (Delonix regia)

Derived terms

Descendants

• → English: flamboyant
• → Portuguese: flamboaiã, flamboyant; flamboiã, flambuaiã
• → Spanish: flamboyán, framboyán

Further reading

• “flamboyant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

German

Etymology

Borrowed from French flamboyant.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: flam‧bo‧yant

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

flamboyant (strong nominative masculine singular flamboyanter, comparative flamboyanter, superlative am flamboyantesten)

1. flamboyant

Declension

Further reading

• “flamboyant” in Duden online
• “flamboyant” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French flamboyant.

Pronunciation

Noun

flamboyant m (plural flamboyants)

1. Alternative spelling of flamboaiã

Further reading

• “flamboyant” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
• “flamboyant” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.