rosemary English · revision 1544

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1373}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈɹəʊzməɹi/ ''(UK)''; /ˈɹoʊzˌmɛəɹi/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|rosmarine]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate) altered by folk etymology through association with [[rose]] and the name Mary.^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)^(Hoad 1986) The Middle English word is from [[la|rōsmarīnus]], [[m|la|rōs marīnus|t=dew of the sea]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(Hoad 1986) from [[m|la|rōs|t=dew]] and [[m|la|marīnus|t=of the sea]] (see [[marine]]).^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966) The Middle English word may have come through [[fro|rosmarin]] or [[dum|rosemarine]].^(Hoad 1986)^(Skeat 1911) The loss of the ''-n'' is due to confusion with Mary.^(Klein 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The aromatic evergreen shrub (1373 in Barnhart, and as ''rosmarine'' about 1300 in Etymonline).^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The plant may have been called “sea dew” because it grew near coasts;^(Etymonline) Skeat says it was named from some fancied link with sea spray.^(Skeat 1911) The form ''rose-marie'' is recorded in the late 14th century.^(Etymonline) From the 16th century the plant was used as an emblem at funerals and weddings,^(OED 1989) and it is the traditional symbol of remembrance.^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023) The name was also applied, with qualifying words, to various other plants (1597),^(OED 1989) and in Australia to a shrub that Dampier (1703) found “just like rosemary” but without scent.^(Morris 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1300 – ''rosmarine''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1373 – ''rosemarye''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * c. 1440 – first quotation in the OED.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1584 – as an emblem at funerals and weddings.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1597 – applied to other plants.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An aromatic evergreen [[shrub]] of the [[mint]] family, native to the Mediterranean, with narrow greyish-green leaves used in cooking and [[perfumery]] and pale blue flowers; a traditional emblem of remembrance.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The leaves of this plant, used as a seasoning.^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[marine]]

+ * [[rose]]

+ * [[dew]]

+ * [[costmary]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}