[1][2] In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicating the time when someone flourished.
[1] Latin: flōruit is the third-person singular perfect active indicative of the Latin verb flōreō, flōrēre "to bloom, flower, or flourish", from the noun flōs, flōris, "flower".
[3][2] Broadly, the term is employed in reference to the peak of activity for a person or movement.
More specifically, it often is used in genealogy and historical writing when a person's birth or death dates are unknown, but some other evidence exists that indicates when they were alive.
In this context, it denotes the period of the individual's known artistic activity,[5] which would generally be after they had received their training and, for example, had begun signing work or being mentioned in contracts.