Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
rosemary [rohz-mair-ee, -muh-ree] ExamplesWord Origin noun, plural rose·mar·ies.
- an evergreen shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, of the mint family, native to the Mediterranean region, having leathery, narrow leaves and pale-blue, bell-shaped flowers, used as a seasoning and in perfumery and medicine: a traditional symbol of remembrance.
Origin of rosemary 1400–50; late Middle English rose mary (by folk etymology, influenced by rose1 and the name Mary) Latin rōs dew + marīnus marine, or rōs maris dew of the sea (in E the final -s mistaken for plural sign) Rosemary [rohz-mair-ee, -muh-ree] noun
- a female given name.
Examples from the Web for rosemary Contemporary Examples of rosemary
After Rosemary offers me some tea, I sit down on the couch with Downey Sr. to discuss his astonishing life, and career.
The Renegade: Robert Downey Sr. on His Classic Films, Son’s Battle with Drugs, and Bill Cosby
Marlow Stern
November 26, 2014
Today all of “these girls are living their lives in dignity, using needles and sewing machines,” said Sister Rosemary.
Live from San Antonio: Women in the World Texas!
Women in the World
October 23, 2014
Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe is a nun of the Sacred Heart who rescues young girls from sexual slavery and rebel attacks in Uganda.
Live from San Antonio: Women in the World Texas!
Women in the World
October 23, 2014
In April 2013, Travis County’s District Attorney, Rosemary Lehmberg was arrested for and pleaded guilty to driving while drunk.
Peak ‘Oops’: Explaining the Perry Indictment
Mark McKinnon
August 17, 2014
He seems undaunted at tackling a number previously vocalized by the likes of Nat King Cole, Rosemary Clooney, and Sammy Davis Jr.
Is Nick Ziobro the Next Frank Sinatra?
Steve North
July 19, 2014
Historical Examples of rosemary
What Ophelia said was: ‘There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance.
Benjamin Taylor
In the South of Europe the rosemary has long had magic properties ascribed to it.
Benjamin Taylor
For love-potions, decoctions of rosemary were much employed.
Benjamin Taylor
As a love-charm the reputation of rosemary seems to have come from the South.
Benjamin Taylor
It is as an emblem of remembrance that rosemary is most frequently used by the old poets.
Benjamin Taylor
British Dictionary definitions for rosemary rosemary noun plural -maries
- an aromatic European shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, widely cultivated for its grey-green evergreen leaves, which are used in cookery for flavouring and yield a fragrant oil used in the manufacture of perfumes: family Lamiaceae (labiates). It is the traditional flower of remembrance
Word Origin for rosemary C15: earlier rosmarine, from Latin rōs dew + marīnus marine; modern form influenced by folk etymology, as if rose 1 + Mary Word Origin and History for rosemary n.
late 14c., earlier rosmarine (c.1300), from Latin rosmarinus, literally “dew of the sea” (cf. French romarin), from ros “dew” + marinus (see marine (adj.)). Perhaps so called because it grew near coasts. Form altered in English by influence of rose and Mary.
Latin ros is from PIE *ers- “to be wet” (cf. Lithuanian rasa, Old Church Slavonic rosa “dew,” Sanskrit rasah “sap, juice, fluid, essence,” Hittite arszi “flows,” and perhaps also Rha, Scythian name of the River Volga (see rhubarb)).