primrose

Where does the word "primrose" come from? It comes from Medieval Latin prima rosa, and was adopted directly into English (1400s).

Primrose’s story begins in Medieval Latin: prima rosa meant “first rose.” 'first rose', for its early spring flowering, though it is not a rose at all; it may be a reshaping of the older name primerole. It reached English by 1400s as primrose. Via Old French primerose; Shakespeare's Hamlet (c. 1600) coined 'the primrose path of dalliance' for the easy road to ruin. Today, primrose means a common European plant with pale yellow spring flowers.

1. Stage 1 · Medieval Latin · medieval prima rosa "first rose", 'first rose', for its early spring flowering, though it is not a rose at all; it may be a reshaping of the older name primerole.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1400s primrose "pale yellow spring flower", via Old French primerose; Shakespeare's Hamlet (c. 1600) coined 'the primrose path of dalliance' for the easy road to ruin.