What does rosemary mean?
Word: Rosemary
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Rosemary means a sweet-smelling evergreen herb used in cooking.
How do you spell rosemary?
Syllables: rose - ma - ry
Tricky part: The vowel in the weak middle syllable could be almost anything when said quickly. Pupils often guess e, but it is an a.
Watch out for: rosemery, rosemarey, rosmary
Memory tip: This is an aromatic herb, so let the a of aromatic remind you of the a in its weak middle syllable.
Rosemary in a sentence
Example 1: Aunt Clara grows rosemary in a clay pot on her balcony in Shillong.
Example 2: The smell of rosemary filled the kitchen as the bread baked.
Example 3: Rub a sprig of rosemary between your fingers and the scent stays for hours.
Fun Fact
The name comes from a Latin phrase usually explained as dew of the sea, and the plant does grow wild near the coasts of the Mediterranean.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. cinamon 2. rosemary 3. turmerick 4. corriander
a) a plant whose fresh leaves and seeds flavour curries
b) a yellow powder that colours and flavours food
c) a sweet brown spice made from tree bark
d) a garden herb with a strong, pine-like smell
Show answer
d) a garden herb with a strong, pine-like smell. The other three should read coriander, cinnamon and turmeric.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
rosemarry
a) a
b) r
c) s
d) m
Show answer
b) r. Unlike the verb marry, this herb has one r after its a.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
ro_e_ary
a) s, n
b) c, m
c) z, m
d) s, m
Show answer
d) s, m. You hear a z in the first gap, yet the letter is the s of rose.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The chef at the hill-station cafe chopped some fresh sayoemrr and scattered it over the grilled tomatoes.
a) marjoram
b) rosemary
c) rosewood
d) rosette
Show answer
b) rosemary. There is a y and one m among the jumbled letters, and no w, t or j, so three choices fall away.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A chef wants to flavour roast potatoes. Which part of the rosemary plant will she use?
a) the thin leaves from its woody stems
b) the hard bark of its trunk
c) the thick roots under the soil
d) the ripe berries on its branches
Show answer
a) the thin leaves from its woody stems
2. Which plants belong in the same kitchen group as rosemary?
a) cashews and almonds
b) mangoes and guavas
c) thyme and oregano
d) lentils and chickpeas
Show answer
c) thyme and oregano
