Bartlett Pear
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Sweet william is an old English name for an old English flower, Dianthus barbatus, a member of the pink family.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bartlett Pear” mean?
Sweet william is an old English name for an old English flower, Dianthus barbatus, a member of the pink family.
Is “Bartlett Pear” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.