wallflower

Etymology

wall +‎ flower

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔːl.ˌflɑʊ.ə/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈwɔl.ˌflɑʊ.ɚ/, /ˈwɑl.ˌflɑʊ.ɚ/

Noun

wallflower (plural wallflowers)

1. Any of several short-lived herbs or shrubs of the Erysimum genus with bright yellow to red flowers.
2. Gastrolobium grandiflorum, a poisonous bushy shrub, endemic to Australia.
3. (informal) A person who is socially awkward, especially one who does not dance at a party due to shyness.

Verb

wallflower (third-person singular simple present wallflowers, present participle wallflowering, simple past and past participle wallflowered)

1. (intransitive) To stand shyly apart from a dance, waiting to be asked to join in.
   • 2010, Alexandra Carter, ‎Janet O'Shea, The Routledge Dance Studies Reader (page 237)

     […] the idea that a full tango experience is impossible without the presence of wallflowers and without the threat of wallflowering as the potential dancers enter the tango club.