Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “rosy” come from?

Rosy comes from English rose with the adjective-forming suffix -y, ultimately derived from Latin roseus, which itself developed from Latin rosa through the suffix -eus.

rosy (English): Rose-coloured; Resembling rose, as in scent of...

Definitions

  1. Rose-coloured; Resembling rose, as in scent of...

Ancestry of “rosy”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishroséA pale pink wine made by removing the dark grape...
2Frenchrosépinkish; rosé
3Germanrosépale pink
4Middle High Germanrôse—
5Old High Germanrōsa—
6LatinRosa—
7Ancient Greekῥόδονrose; 423 BCE, Aristophanes, The Clouds :ῥόδα μ’...
8Old Persianwurdiflower
9Proto-Germanicwurdizfate, destiny
10Proto-Indo-Europeanwrti-—
11Proto-Indo-Europeanwert-to turn, to rotate
12Proto-Indo-Europeanwer-to burn; to cover, heed, notice; squirrel

Words derived from “rosy”

  • rosier
  • rosily
  • rosiness
  • rosied
  • rosybill
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wer- →