1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Posy

POSY (a shortened form of poesy, Fr. poésie, poetry), a verse of poetry or a motto, either with a moral or religious sentiment or message of love, often inscribed in a ring or sent with a present, such as a bouquet of flowers, which may be the origin of the common use of the word for a nosegay or bouquet. It has been suggested that this use is due to the custom of the symbolic use of flowers. Skeat quotes the title of a tract (Heber’s MSS. No. 1442), “A new yeare’s guifte, or a posie made upon certen flowers,” &c. “Posy rings,” plain or engraved gold rings with a “posy” inscribed on the inside of the hoops, were very frequently in use as betrothal rings from the 16th to the 18th centuries. Common “posies” were such lines as “In thee my choice I do rejoice,” “As God decreed so we agreed,” and the like. There are several rings of this kind in the British Museum.