Violet

Modesty, in almost every flower dictionary, because the violet hides among its leaves. Colour changed the meaning: Sarah Josepha Hale and Kate Greenaway made the blue violet "faithfulness", the white violet stood for candour or innocence, and Greenaway's yellow violet for "rural happiness".

The language of flowers. Also called violet meaning.

Meaning

Charlotte de La Tour's chapter on the violet is headed Modestie. Her white violet is Candeur, candour, which she says comes before modesty: a violet still dressed in the colour of innocence. The English version of her book keeps "modesty", makes the white violet an emblem of innocence, and quotes an old verse that says "Violet is for faithfulness". Henrietta Dumont's Floral Offering (Philadelphia, 1851) heads its chapter "modest worth", for true worth "that shrinks from parade", though her dictionary says "modesty". Sarah Josepha Hale's Flora's Interpreter (Boston, 1832) splits the colours: the blue violet is "faithfulness" and the white "modesty". Kate Greenaway's Language of Flowers (1884) gives the blue violet "faithfulness", the sweet violet "modesty", the dame violet "watchfulness" and the yellow violet "rural happiness". John Ingram's Flora Symbolica (1869) notes that the white violet stood for candour to some authors and innocence to others. The violet is the Old Farmer's Almanac's first flower for February.

Origin and history

The books gave the violet a Greek past. The English version of La Tour traces its Greek name, ion, to Ia, daughter of Midas, whom Diana turned into a violet to hide her from Apollo. Richard Folkard's Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (1884) adds that the Athenians put the flower's name on tablets throughout the city and liked above all to be called "Athenians crowned with violets". Brent Elliott, of the Royal Horticultural Society's Lindley Library, traces "rural happiness" for the yellow violet to Lucy Hooper's Ladies' Hand-book of the Language of Flowers (London, 1844).

Le Langage des fleurs (Charlotte de La Tour, 13th edition), Charlotte de La Tour, Le Langage des fleurs, treizième édition augmentée (Paris: Garnier frères, [1856]); first published 1819, Cornell University Library, via the Internet Archive, Violette; Dictionnaire, “Candeur”
The Language of Flowers: The Floral Offering, by Henrietta Dumont, 1851, H. C. Peck & Theo. Bliss, Philadelphia (Project Gutenberg edition), Violet chapter; Dictionary of Flowers
Flora's Interpreter (Sarah Josepha Hale, 1832), Sarah Josepha Hale, Flora's Interpreter, or the American Book of Flowers and Sentiments (Boston: Marsh, Capen and Lyon, 1832), Boston Public Library, via the Internet Archive, Violet, blue; Violet, white
Language of Flowers, illustrated by Kate Greenaway, 1884, George Routledge and Sons (Project Gutenberg edition), Violet
The Victorian Language of Flowers (Brent Elliott, 2013), Brent Elliott, "The Victorian language of flowers", Occasional Papers from the RHS Lindley Library 10: 3–94 (2013), Royal Horticultural Society, via the Internet Archive, p. 37
Flora Symbolica (John Ingram, 1869), John Ingram, Flora Symbolica; or, the Language and Sentiment of Flowers (London: Frederick Warne, 1869), Internet Archive, Violet
Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (Richard Folkard, 1884), Richard Folkard, Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (London: Sampson Low, 1884), Project Gutenberg, Violet
Birth Flowers by Month: Discover Your Monthly Flower & Meaning, Catherine Boeckmann, updated 17 September 2026, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, February
The Language of Flowers, with Illustrative Poetry, by Frederic Shoberl, seventh edition, 1840, Saunders & Otley, London (Internet Archive, Cornell University Library copy), Violet; Dictionary, “Candour”

Napoleon's violets

The violet also had a political meaning in France. Ingram records that while Napoleon was in exile his followers took the violet as their emblem and called him Le Père la Violette; a bunch of violets hung in the house or worn by a Frenchman showed that he was loyal to the fallen emperor.

Violets and forget-me-nots

Hale's book confuses the two small blue flowers: her Forget-me-not is described as a species of violet.

Sources

Le Langage des fleurs (Charlotte de La Tour, 13th edition), Charlotte de La Tour, Le Langage des fleurs, treizième édition augmentée (Paris: Garnier frères, [1856]); first published 1819, Cornell University Library, via the Internet Archive, Violette; Dictionnaire, “Candeur”
The Language of Flowers: The Floral Offering, by Henrietta Dumont, 1851, H. C. Peck & Theo. Bliss, Philadelphia (Project Gutenberg edition), Violet chapter; Dictionary of Flowers
Flora's Interpreter (Sarah Josepha Hale, 1832), Sarah Josepha Hale, Flora's Interpreter, or the American Book of Flowers and Sentiments (Boston: Marsh, Capen and Lyon, 1832), Boston Public Library, via the Internet Archive, Violet, blue; Violet, white
Language of Flowers, illustrated by Kate Greenaway, 1884, George Routledge and Sons (Project Gutenberg edition), Violet
The Victorian Language of Flowers (Brent Elliott, 2013), Brent Elliott, "The Victorian language of flowers", Occasional Papers from the RHS Lindley Library 10: 3–94 (2013), Royal Horticultural Society, via the Internet Archive, p. 37
Flora Symbolica (John Ingram, 1869), John Ingram, Flora Symbolica; or, the Language and Sentiment of Flowers (London: Frederick Warne, 1869), Internet Archive, Violet
Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (Richard Folkard, 1884), Richard Folkard, Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics (London: Sampson Low, 1884), Project Gutenberg, Violet
Birth Flowers by Month: Discover Your Monthly Flower & Meaning, Catherine Boeckmann, updated 17 September 2026, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, February
The Language of Flowers, with Illustrative Poetry, by Frederic Shoberl, seventh edition, 1840, Saunders & Otley, London (Internet Archive, Cornell University Library copy), Violet; Dictionary, “Candour”

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Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research

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