'florist' originates from French, specifically the word 'floriste', where 'flor-' (from Latin 'flos') meant 'flower'.

'florist' changed from the French word 'floriste' and was borrowed into English as 'florist' (via 19th-century usage) to refer to someone associated with flowers.

Initially it referred more generally to someone concerned with or cultivating flowers; over time it evolved into the current sense of a person who sells and arranges flowers.