nosegay

nose′gayˊ

,

Noun.

[

Nose

+

gay

in the sense of a gay or showy thing.]

A bunch of odorous and showy flowers; a bouquet; a posy.

Pope.

,

Noun.

A bunch of flowers used to regale the sense of smelling.

As on the nosegay in her breast reclined.

nosegay ‎(plural nosegays)

A small bunch of fragrant flowers or herbs, tied in a bundle, often presented as a gift on meeting, and originally intended to be put to the nose for the pleasant sensation, or to mask unpleasant odours.
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 19, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
  At the far end of the houses the head gardener stood waiting for his mistress, and he gave her strips of bass to tie up her nosegay. This she did slowly and laboriously, with knuckly old fingers that shook.
- 2007 September 11, Donald G. McNeil, Jr., "In India, a Quest to Ease the Pain of the Dying", in The New York Times,
  The 80-year-old Government Opium and Alkaloid Works in Neemuch smells better than it looks. The turfy-chocolaty nosegay of raw opium wafts from hundreds of milk cans.

A small bunch of fragrant flowers or herbs.