Word of the Day

: February 24, 2013

roseate

adjective ROH-zee-ut

What It Means

1 : resembling a rose especially in having a pink color

2 : overly optimistic : viewed favorably

roseate in Context

Her memories of her childhood are pleasant, bordering on roseate; some of her siblings recall things a bit differently.

"A delectable avocado and bacon-topped burger-smoky and juicy-has a lovely char and an oozy, roseate center…." - From a restaurant review by Joan Reminick in Newsday (New York), January 3, 2013

Did You Know?

"Everything's coming up roses." "He views the world through rose-tinted glasses." "She has a rosy outlook on life." In English, we tend to associate roses and rose color with optimism, and "roseate" is no exception. "Roseate" comes from the Latin adjective "roseus," and ultimately from the noun "rosa," meaning "rose." Figurative use of "roseate" began in the 19th century, and the literal sense of the term has been in the language since the 16th century. Literal uses of "roseate" are often found in descriptions of sunrises and sunsets. "Through yon peaks of cloud-like snow / The roseate sunlight quivers," wrote Shelley in Prometheus Unbound. And in an early short story, Edith Wharton wrote, "The sunset was perfect and a roseate light, transfiguring the distant spire, lingered late in the west."