A posy is a small bouquet of flowers, usually simple and charming rather than elaborate.

In Victorian times, people created posies with specific flowers to send secret messages, since each flower had a meaning. A posy of red roses meant love, while yellow roses suggested friendship. Someone might give a posy of daisies to show innocence, or lavender to express devotion. This “language of flowers” let people communicate feelings they couldn't say out loud in that formal era.

Today, a posy might be wildflowers picked from a field and tied with ribbon, or a small arrangement from a florist. Flower girls at weddings often carry posies instead of large bouquets. The word captures something sweet and unpretentious: a handful of flowers given with genuine feeling rather than an expensive display meant to impress.

You might also encounter posy as an old-fashioned word for a short motto or inscription, especially one engraved inside a ring, though this meaning is rarely used anymore.