LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

rosa

rosa f (genitive rosae)
Classical[ˈrɔ.sa]Ecclesiastical[ˈrɔː.s̬a]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininerose (plant of the genus Rosa or its flower)
    Proderit et tunsum gallae admiscere saporem / arentesque rosas […]It's good too to blend a taste of pounded oak-apples / and dry rose leaves […]c. 37 BCE – 30 BCE, Vergilius, Georgicon 4.267
    Inde etiam rosas effert, umbrarumque frigus non ingrato sole distinguit. Finito vario illo multiplicique curvamine recto limiti redditur nec huic uni, nam viae plures intercedentibus buxis dividuntur.Farther on, there are roses too along the path, and the cool shade is pleasantly alternated with sunshine. Having passed through these manifold winding alleys, the path resumes a straight course, and at the same time divides into several tracks, separated by box hedges. Even roses grow there, and the warmth of the sun is delightful as a change from the cool of the shade. When you come to the end of these various winding alleys, the boundary again runs straight, or should I say boundaries, for there are a number of paths with box shrubs between them.61 CE – c. 112 CE, Plinius Minor, Epistulae 5
  2. femininedear, rose, sweetheart, love (word of endearment)
    mea rosamy rose

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

flōs pulcherrimus; spīnās quoque habet.
rosa -ae f — in Mille Verba, Arborēs et Plantae

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativerosarosae
genitiverosaerosārum
dativerosaerosīs
accusativerosamrosās
ablativerosārosīs
vocativerosarosae

rŏsa, ae, f. kindr. with ῥόδον,
I. a rose.
I. Lit., Varr R. R. 1, 35, 1; Plin. 21, 4, 10, § 14: Paestanae rosae, Mart. 4, 42, 10: cape rosas, id. 2, 59, 3; sacred to Venus, Aus. Idyll. 14; cf. id. ib. 6, 76 and 92; blooms latest of the spring flowers, Plin. 21, 11, 38, § 64.—Hence, sera, Hor. C. 1, 38, 3; cf. Cicero's reproach: cum rosam viderat, tum incipere ver arbitrabatur, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 11, § 27.—Used on festive and solemn occasions for wreaths, for strewing in the way or upon graves, at feasts, etc., Lucr. 2, 627; Hor. C. 1, 36, 15; 2, 11, 14; 3, 19, 22; 29, 3; Prop. 1, 17, 22; 3, 5 (4, 4), 22; 4 (5), 8, 40; Plin. 18, 26, 64, § 236; Sen. Hippol. 769; Plin. Ep. 5, 6, 34; Tac. H. 2, 70 et saep.; cf. Becker, Gall. 3, p. 32 (2d edit.): plena rosarum Atria. Ov. M. 2, 113.— Prov.: inter vepres rosae nascuntur, Amm. 16, 7, 4. —
B. Collect., for roses, wreaths of roses (only so in class. prose): sertis redimiri jubebis et rosā? Cic. Tusc. 3, 18, 43: an tu me in violā putabas aut in rosā dicere? on, among roses, id. ib. 5, 26, 73: in rosā potare, id. Fin. 2, 20, 65: jacere, Sen. Ep. 36, 9: vivere, Mart. 8, 77, 2; cf.: multā in rosā, Hor. C. 1, 5, 1: pulvinus perlucidus rosā fartus, Cic. Verr. 2, 5, 11, § 27.—
II. Transf.
A. As a word of endearment, in Plautus: mea rosa, my rose, my rosebud, Plaut. As. 3, 3, 74; id. Bacch. 1, 1, 50; or simply rosa, id. Men. 1, 3, 9: tu mihi rosa es, id. Curc. 1, 2, 6.—
B. Oil of roses, Cels. 8, 3; 4; 6, 18, 8. —
C. The season or month of roses, Inscr. Grut. 753, 4; cf. rosales.—
D. The rose-bush, rose-tree: nimium breves Flores amoenae ferre jube rosae, Hor. C. 2, 3, 14: radix silvestris rosae, Plin. 8, 41, 63, § 152.—Plur.: flores rosarum, Lucr. 2, 627; cf. Hor. C. 3, 29, 3: terram ad rosarum et vineae satum vertere, Plin. 18, 26, 64, § 236.

Origins

Probably derived from a variant of Ancient Greek ῥόδον (rhódon), but some of the details remain mysterious. Possibly via another Italic language like Oscan, or alternatively via the Aeolic version of ῥοδέᾱ (rhodéā, “rose-bush”) which would have been *ῥοζά (*rhozá).

Elsewhere
  • Sardinianrosa
  • Sardinianarrosa
  • Frenchrosefrom Old French rose
  • Germanrosa
  • Romanianroză
  • Venetanròxa
  • Basquearrosa
  • Bretonrozfrom Proto-Brythonic *rros
  • Cornishrosfrom Proto-Brythonic *rros
  • Welshrhosfrom Proto-Brythonic *rros
Old Occitan
  • Catalanrosa
  • Occitanròsa
West Iberian
  • Portugueserosafrom Old Galician-Portuguese rosa
  • Spanishrosafrom Old Spanish rosa
  • Aragoneserosa
  • Asturianrosa
  • Galicianrosafrom Old Galician-Portuguese rosa
  • Ladinorozafrom Old Spanish rosa
  • Ladinoרוזהfrom Old Spanish rosa
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianrosa
  • Corsicanrosa
  • Dalmatianruosa
  • Istriotroza
  • Neapolitanrosa
  • Malteserożafrom Sicilian rosa
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianróśa
  • Ligurianrêuza
  • Lombardròsa
  • Lombardrösa
  • Lombardròs
  • Lombardroeusa
  • Piedmontesereusa
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianrose
  • Romanshrosa
  • Romanshrösa
North Frisian
  • Föhr-Amrumruus
  • Mooringrous
  • SyltRuus

Quick answers

What does rosa mean in Latin?
rosa, a noun, means “rose (plant of the genus Rosa or its flower); dear, rose, sweetheart, love (word of endearment)”.
What is the genitive of rosa?
The genitive singular is rosae. rosa is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce rosa?
In classical Latin, [ˈrɔ.sa]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈrɔː.s̬a].