How did rosemary get its name?

Question

Just curious, did someone called mary pick up something like a rose and called it rosemary?

In: 0

Answer 1

The name rosemary or rosmarinus comes from the Latin ros marinus (genitive roris marini) and means “dew (ros) of the sea (marinus)”, that is, “sea dew”.The reason often given is that rosemary bushes grow on the coasts of the Mediterranean and at night the dew collects in their flowers. An older interpretation of the origin of the name went back to the Greek term rhops myrinos (balsamic shrub). This also includes a possible namesake connection of the Greek words libanotis (rosemary) and libanos (incense).