[Sca-cooks] OED on damask water?

Johnna Holloway johnnae at mac.com
Sun May 9 17:18:58 PDT 2010


As to definitions since I am prowling about on the professional  
databases:

OED states:
damask rose, a species or variety of rose, supposed to have been  
originally brought from Damascus.

Apparently, originally the Rosa gallica var. damascena, a tall shrub  
with semi-double pink or light-red (rarely white) flowers, cultivated  
in the East for attar of roses; but this underwent many changes under  
cultivation in the West, and the name has been very variously applied  
by English authors. ....the name is now applied at Mitcham to a  
variety of R. gallica with very deep-coloured flowers.

C. 1540 Recipe in Vicary's Anat. (1886) App. 224 Putt therto half an  
vnce of fyne pouldre of redde dammaske rosys.

1578 Lyte Dodoens vi. i. 655 We cal them in English, Roses of  
Prouince, and Damaske Roses.

1578 Lyte Dodoens 654 The flowers..be neither redde nor white, but of  
a mixt colour betwixt red and white, almost carnation colour.

1582 Hakluyt Memoranda in Voy. II. i. 165 The Damaske rose [brought  
in] by Doctour Linaker, King Henry the seuenth and King Henry the  
eights Physician.
damask water, rose-water distilled from Damask roses. Obs.

1306 N. de Tingewick in Archæol. Jrnl; XIV. 271 Item pro aqua rosata  
de Damasco.

1519 Four Elements in Hazl. Dodsley I. 44 With damask water made so  
well, That all the house thereof shall smell, As it were paradise.

1555 Eden Decades 224 The Capitayne sprinkeled the Kynges with damaske  
water.

1611 Cotgr. s.v. Damas, Eau de Damas, Damaske, or sweet, water  
(distilled from all sorts of odoriferous hearbs).
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Hope this helps

Johnnae 


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