Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Flourish \Flour"ish\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Flourished}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Flourishing}.] [OE. florisshen, flurisshen, OF.
   flurir, F. fleurir, fr. L. florere to bloom, fr. flos,
   floris, flower. See {Flower}, and {-ish}.]
   1. To grow luxuriantly; to increase and enlarge, as a healthy
      growing plant; a thrive.

            A tree thrives and flourishes in a kindly . . .
            soil.                                 --Bp. Horne.

   2. To be prosperous; to increase in wealth, honor, comfort,
      happiness, or whatever is desirable; to thrive; to be
      prominent and influental; specifically, of authors,
      painters, etc., to be in a state of activity or
      production.

            When all the workers of iniquity do flourish. --Ps.
                                                  xcii 7

            Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish, and that
            by the means of their wickedness.     --Nelson.

            We say Of those that held their heads above the
            crowd, They flourished then or then.  --Tennyson.

   3. To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures
      and lofty expressions; to be flowery.

            They dilate . . . and flourish long on little
            incidents.                            --J. Watts.

   4. To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements,
      by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with
      fantastic and irregular motion.

            Impetuous spread The stream, and smoking flourished
            o'er his head.                        --Pope.

   5. To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write
      graceful, decorative figures.

   6. To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by
      way of ornament or prelude.

            Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish thus? --Shak.

   7. To boast; to vaunt; to brag. --Pope.

Flourish \Flour"ish\, v. t.
   1. To adorn with flowers orbeautiful figures, either natural
      or artificial; to ornament with anything showy; to
      embellish. [Obs.] --Fenton.

   2. To embellish with the flowers of diction; to adorn with
      rhetorical figures; to grace with ostentatious eloquence;
      to set off with a parade of words. [Obs.]

            Sith that the justice of your title to him Doth
            flourish the deceit.                  --Shak.

   3. To move in bold or irregular figures; to swing about in
      circles or vibrations by way of show or triumph; to
      brandish.

            And flourishes his blade in spite of me. --Shak.

   4. To develop; to make thrive; to expand. [Obs.]

            Bottoms of thread . . . which with a good needle,
            perhaps may be flourished into large works. --Bacon.

Flourish \Flour"ish\, n.; pl. {Flourishes}.
   1. A flourishing condition; prosperity; vigor. [Archaic]

            The Roman monarchy, in her highest flourish, never
            had the like.                         --Howell.

   2. Decoration; ornament; beauty.

            The flourish of his sober youth Was the pride of
            naked truth.                          --Crashaw.

   3. Something made or performed in a fanciful, wanton, or
      vaunting manner, by way of ostentation, to excite
      admiration, etc.; ostentatious embellishment; ambitious
      copiousness or amplification; parade of words and figures;
      show; as, a flourish of rhetoric or of wit.

            He lards with flourishes his long harangue.
                                                  --Dryden.

   4. A fanciful stroke of the pen or graver; a merely
      decorative figure.

            The neat characters and flourishes of a Bible
            curiously printed.                    --Boyle.

   5. A fantastic or decorative musical passage; a strain of
      triumph or bravado, not forming part of a regular musical
      composition; a cal; a fanfare.

            A flourish, trumpets! strike alarum, drums! --Shak.

   6. The waving of a weapon or other thing; a brandishing; as,
      the flourish of a sword.

Source : WordNet®

flourish
     n 1: a showy gesture; "she entered with a great flourish"
     2: an ornamental embellishment in writing
     3: a display of ornamental speech or language
     4: the act of waving [syn: {brandish}]
     5: (music) a short lively tune played on brass instruments; "he
        entered to a flourish of trumpets"; "her arrival was
        greeted with a rousing fanfare" [syn: {fanfare}, {tucket}]
     v 1: grow stronger; "The economy was booming" [syn: {boom}, {prosper},
           {thrive}, {get ahead}, {expand}]
     2: gain in wealth [syn: {thrive}, {prosper}, {fly high}]
     3: move or swing back and forth; "She waved her gun" [syn: {brandish},
         {wave}]