Etymology Map
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Primrose

2 stages from Medieval Latin to English.

Today it means a common European plant with pale yellow spring flowers

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

1
Stage 1 of 2
prima rosa
Medieval Latin · medieval
"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 of 2
primrose
English · 1400s
"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
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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.