rose water

¹

or rose·wa·ter

[ rohz-waw-ter, ‐-wot-er ]

noun

1. water tinctured with the essential oil of roses, used as a perfume and in cooking.

rose-water

²

[ rohz-waw-ter, -wot-er ]

adjective

1. having the aroma or fragrance of rose water.
2. affectedly delicate, nice, or fine; sentimental:

   a Victorian novelist with a genteel, rose-water style.

rose-water

noun

1. 1. scented water used as a perfume and in cooking, made by the distillation of rose petals or by impregnation with oil of roses
   2. ( as modifier )

      rose-water scent

2. modifier elegant or delicate, esp excessively so

Word History and Origins

Origin of rose water¹

First recorded in 1350–1400

Origin of rose water²

First recorded in 1655–65

Example Sentences

And even as Minou goes about procuring fennel pie and rose-water biscuits at a busy market stall, the region’s violent history seeks to reassert itself.

From Washington Post

But there are harder-to-find sweets, too, like the rose-water custard, grainy with rice flour, transformed into a sort of tart by a crust of chopped nuts.

From New York Times

Saffron and rose-water ice cream is luxuriously rich despite a few stray ice crystals.

From New York Times

Or vanilla ice cream striped with rose-water syrup, improvised by Mr. Zaman, who weaves in and out of conversations as he checks on guests, with a flourish of silver hair and a frank smile.

From New York Times

“We are trying to apply a higher-level restaurant ethos to a much more casual experience,” Ms. Kramer said as she picked through a basket of chervil that would go into a cucumber salad made with persimmon and rose-water labneh, a strained yogurt.

From New York Times