rose

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /rəʊz/, US /roʊz/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English rōse,^[2][3] borrowed from Latin rosa,^[3][2] reinforced in Middle English by rose,^[2][4] which fixed the spelling.^[2][3] Latin rosa is probably from Greek rhódon through Italian and Greek dialects,^[3][5] perhaps as an Etruscan form of Greek Rhodia, “of Rhodes”.^[6] Greek rhódon is probably borrowed from the East, like Armenian vard, from an Old Iranian form;^[3][5] the modern Persian cognate is gul.^[3][5] Latin rosa was also borrowed into the other Germanic languages: Dutch roos, German Rose, Old Norse rósa.^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The flower and its shrub: about 888 in the OED,^[7] before 899 in Alfred's translation of Boethius in Barnhart.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Rose-red is from the early 13th century,^[3] and rose as a colour name for light crimson by the 1520s.^[3] A person of great beauty or virtue is a rose from the early 15th century,^[3] and a rose-shaped figure from the 14th century.^[4] No rose without a thorn goes back to medieval times.^[8] The Wars of the Roses, the 15th-century English civil wars, are so named by 1823; the white rose was the badge of York and the red of Lancaster.^[3] An English rose, an attractive fair-skinned English girl, is from the late 18th century,^[8] and rose-coloured spectacles from the mid-19th century.^[8] The adjective, “rich red”, is by 1816.^[3] Rosy is from the 14th century, though rare before the 16th.^[4]

Timeline

• before 899 – the flower.^[2]
• early 13th century – rose-red.^[3]
• 14th century – a rose-shaped figure, and rosy.^[4]
• early 15th century – a person of great beauty.^[3]
• 1520s – a colour.^[3]
• late 18th century – English rose.^[8]
• 1823 – Wars of the Roses.^[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A shrub or vine of the genus Rosa, with prickly stems and fragrant flowers; its flower.
2. A dark pink or light red colour.
3. A rose-shaped design or decoration, such as a rosette.
4. A perforated nozzle on a watering can or hose.

Adjective

1. Of the colour rose; pinkish red.
2. Scented with roses.

Word family

• roselike
• roseless
• roseate
• rosebud
• rosebush
• rose-colored
• roseola
• rosette

Related words

• rosary
• rhododendron
• julep
• rosé

Usage notes

Rosé, a pink wine, is French vin rosé “pink wine”, from 1897.^[2][3][7] Rose is also the past tense of rise.^[9]

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
7. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ a b c d Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin