Wallflower

I am often interested in the origin of words and terms, so I have added a new category - Word Origins.

Wallflowers - Wallflowers are any number of herbs of the mustard family. They got the name because they often grow on old walls, rocks or quarries. The plant name was first used in 1578. No one knows for sure how the name came to apply to women (or men) are dances who sat by the wall and did were not asked to dance. The first known recording of the term was in 1820 in the book County Ball by Mrs. Campbell Praed. The term is know used to apply to anyone not participating in an event (not just a dance).