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{{short description|Period during which a person was active}}
{{redirect2|Flourished|fl.|other uses|Flourish (disambiguation)|and|FL (disambiguation)}}
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'''''Floruit''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|l|ɔr|u|.|ɪ|t}};<ref name="OELD"/> abbreviated '''fl.''' or occasionally '''flor.'''; from [[Latin]] for "'''flourished'''") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active.<ref name="OELD">{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/floruit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129044634/https://www.lexico.com/definition/floruit |url-status=dead |archive-date=2021-01-29 |title=floruit |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref><ref name="AH">{{cite American Heritage Dictionary|floruit|access-date=2017-11-26}}</ref> In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a [[noun]] indicating the time when someone flourished.<ref name="OELD" />
==Etymology and use==
{{langx|la|flōruit}} is the third-person singular perfect active indicative of the Latin verb ''{{lang|la|flōreō}}'', ''{{lang|la|flōrēre}}'' "to bloom, flower, or flourish", from the noun ''{{lang|la|flōs}}'', ''{{lang|la|flōris}}'', "flower".<ref>''Cassell's Latin Dictionary''</ref><ref name="AH" />
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]] and historical writing when a person's birth or death dates are unknown, but some other evidence exists that indicates when they were alive.<ref name=Adeleye>{{cite book |title=World Dictionary of Foreign Expressions: a Resource for Readers and Writers |last= Adeleye|first= Gabriel |author2=[[Kofi Acquah-Dadzie]] |author3=Thomas J. Sienkewicz |author4=James T. McDonough  |year=1999 |publisher=Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers |isbn=0-86516-423-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/worlddictionaryo00adel_0/page/147 147] |url= https://archive.org/details/worlddictionaryo00adel_0 |url-access=registration |quote=fata morgana Morgan. |access-date=1 June 2010}}</ref> For example, if there are [[Will (law)|will]]s [[Attestation clause|attested]] by John Jones in 1204 and 1229, as well as a record of his marriage in 1197, a record concerning him might be written as "John Jones (fl.&nbsp;1197–1229)", even though Jones was born before 1197 and died possibly after 1229.
The term is often used in [[art history]] when dating the career of an artist. In this context, it denotes the period of the individual's known artistic activity,<ref>{{citation |title=Art History: Its Use and Abuse |last=Johnson |first=W. McAllister |year=1990 |publisher= University of Toronto Press |isbn=0-86516-423-1 |page=307 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VVO4L4rc55sC&pg=PA307 |access-date=1 June 2010}}</ref> which would generally be after they had received their training and, for example, had begun signing work or being mentioned in contracts.
In some cases, it can be replaced by the words "active between {{var|[date]}} and {{var|[date]}}", depending on context and if space or style permits.
==See also==
{{wiktionary|floruit}}
* [[Reign]] (r., Latin ''{{lang|la|rexit}}'')
* ''[[Tempore]]'' (''temp.'')
* [[Family tree]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Chronology}}
[[Category:Latin words and phrases]]
[[Category:Verbs]]