Etymologically
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rose

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:26. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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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

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