''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active.
In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a
noun
A noun () is a word that generally functions as the name of a specific object or set of objects, such as living creatures, places, actions, qualities, states of existence, or ideas.Example nouns for:
* Living creatures (including people, alive, ...
indicating the time when someone flourished.
Etymology and use
la, flōruit is the third-person singular perfect active indicative of the Latin verb ', ' "to bloom, flower, or flourish", from the noun ', ', "flower".
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
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
and historical writing when a person's birth or death dates are unknown, but some other evidence exists that indicates when they were alive.
For example, if there are
wills
attested by John Jones in 1204, and 1229, and a record of his marriage in 1197, a record concerning him might be written as "John Jones (fl. 1197–1229)".
The term is often used in
art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
when dating the career of an artist. In this context, it denotes the period of the individual's artistic activity.
In some cases, it can be replaced by the words "active between and ", depending on context and if space or style permits.
See also
*
Reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-prince of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kings, the Franks, List of ...
(r., Latin ')
* ''
Tempore
''Tempore'' (abbreviated to temp.) in historical literature, denotes a period during which a person whose exact lifespan is unknown, was known to have been alive or active, or some other date which is not exactly known, usually given as the rei ...
'' (''temp.'')
*
Family tree
A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms.
Representations of ...
*
Circa
References
{{Chronology
Latin words and phrases
Verbs