Primrose
adj, name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A flowering plant of the genus Primula.
"A mile or so further on is the intermediate station of Ryhall, smothered with primroses in the season, and at all times a veritable flower garden."
- 2 any of numerous short-stemmed plants of the genus Primula having tufted basal leaves and showy flowers clustered in umbels or heads wordnet
- 3 A flowering plant of the genus Primula.; Specifically, the species Primula acaulis (syn. Primula vulgaris), also called common primrose.
- 4 A plant of the family Primulaceae.
- 5 A plant of the genus Oenothera, better known as an evening primrose.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A flower of a primrose plant.
- 7 A light yellow colour.
- 1 To pick primroses. intransitive
"We went primrosing on Sunday and returned with a full basket."
- 1 Of a light yellow colour.
"Passenger saloons are tastefully furnished with wood veneer and partitions, mottled grey Vyanide walls, pale primrose ceilings and grey floor."
- 1 A habitational surname.
- 2 A female given name from English. Britain, rare
"Mother said, "How do you like Primrose? It sounds fresh and pretty." Milly-Molly-Mandy thought it sounded a very nice name. […] And then she decided, as the baby had come in the spring-time, it had better be Primrose."
Example
More examples"She was as pretty as a primrose."
Etymology
From Middle English primerose, from Old French primerose, from Medieval Latin prima (“first”) + rosa (“rose”). The reason it was called this might be that some primroses are among the first flowers to bloom in the spring.
The surname derives from a place name in Fife, Scotland, from Brythonic words meaning "tree" + "moor", changed by folk etymology because of phonetic resemblance to primrose. The given name is one of the 19th-century flower names.
Related phrases
More for "primrose"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.