Etymologically
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rosa

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Pronunciation

  • IPA (Classical): [ˈrɔ.sa], [ˈrɔ.saː][1]
  • IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈrɔː.s̬a], [ˈrɔː.s̬a][1]

Forms

rosa f (genitive rosae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from a form of Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”), but the details are unclear; it may have come through another Italic language such as Oscan, or from a dialect form.[1][2] Köbler notes that the Greek word is itself a loan from Iranian.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is found in Cicero (81–43 BC), who says of Verres that he thought spring began when he saw a rose,[2] and in Lucretius.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It was the rose, the flower, often in a collective singular, as Cicero's cushion stuffed with roses and his in rosa, “lying among roses”.[2][5] It was also the rose bush, as in Varro, oil of roses in medicine, as in Celsus, and the festival of roses, Rosalia.[2]

The rose was sacred to Venus, and the word was used as an endearment, “my rose”.[4][1] In Medieval Latin it also named a kind of comet.[3] Old English rose was borrowed from it, and it survives as Italian and Spanish rosa.[6]

Timeline

  • 96–55 BC – Lucretius mentions roses in spring.[2][3]
  • 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of roses.[2][3]
  • 116–27 BC – Varro uses it of the rose bush.[2][3]
  • 14–37 AD – Celsus uses it of oil of roses.[2][3]
  • Old English – rose is borrowed from it.[6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A rose (flower).[2][1]
  2. A rose bush.[2][1]
  3. Oil of roses.[2][3]
  4. The festival of roses (Rosalia).[2]
  5. (endearment) Darling.[1]

Word family

  • rosāceus
  • Rosālis
  • rosāns
  • rosārius
  • rosātus
  • rosētum
  • roseus
  • rosulentus
  • rosārium
  • English rose

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
  6. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com