Where does “rosewater sailor” come from?

rosewater sailor (English) comes from English rosewater, from English rosé, from French rosé, from German rosé, from Middle High German rôse, from Old High German rōsa, from Latin Rosa, from Ancient Greek ῥόδον — to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel.

rosewater sailor (English): An officer who is incompetent, or not well-suited for the seas

Definitions

  1. An officer who is incompetent, or not well-suited for the seas

Ancestry of “rosewater sailor”, step by step

rosewater sailor traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English rosewater

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishrosewaterA liquid produced by steeping rose petals in...
2EnglishroséA pale pink wine made by removing the dark grape...
3Frenchrosépinkish; rosé
4Germanrosépale pink
5Middle High Germanrôserose
6Old High Germanrōsa
7LatinRosarose
8Ancient Greekῥόδονrose (usually Rosa gallica)
9Old Persianwurdiflower
10Proto-Germanicwurdizfate, destiny
11Proto-Indo-Europeanwrti-
12Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
13Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

via English sailor

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishsailorA person in the business of navigating ships or...
2EnglishsailerThat which sails; a boat; A fastball that skims...
3English-erA person or thing that does an action indicated...
4Middle English-eragentive suffix; agent noun suffix
5Old French-erAlternative form of -ier, verbal suffix;...
6Latin-ārefirst conjugation
7Proto-Italic-āōForms primarily denominative verbs
8Proto-Indo-European-eh₂yétiCreates iterative/ frequentative/ intensive...
9Proto-Indo-European-yétiCreates intransitive, often deponent,...
10Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
11Chichewaiyehe, she
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer-