Meanings
plural flower wars
- historicalA kind of ritual war fought intermittently between the Aztec Triple Alliance and its enemies.
Synonyms: flowery war, garland war, war of flowers
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA kind of ritual war fought intermittently between the Aztec Triple Alliance and its enemies.
Origin
- Classical Nahuatlxochiyaoyotl
- Englishflower war
Calque of Classical Nahuatl xochiyaoyotl. Named either for: * the death involved known as xochimiquiztli (“flowery death”), a glorious death in war where the souls of warriors go to a paradise * the splendid costumes worn by warriors, causing them to be compared to flowers ripe for harvest
More words from Classical Nahuatl
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
flower war. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flower%20war
“flower war.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flower%20war. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flower war,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flower%20war.
Source: flower war on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.