Rosamund

English

Rosamund Clifford, known as Fair Rosamund, in her Bower

Alternative forms

• Rosamond
• Rosamunde

Etymology

Of Germanic origin (probably Frankish via French Rosemonde or Lombardic via Italian Rosmunda), from Proto-Germanic *hrussą (“horse”) and *mundō (“protection”). By medieval folk etymology interpreted as Latin rosa munda (“pure rose”) or rosa mundī (“rose of the world”) in reference to the Virgin Mary.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈrɒzəmənd/, IPA^(key): /ˈroʊzəmənd/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Proper noun

Rosamund

1. A female given name from the Germanic languages.
   • 1977, Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, HarperCollins, published 2011, →ISBN, page 31:

     Cooks of any seniority were always 'Mrs'. Housemaids and parlourmaids were supposed to have 'suitable' names - e.g. Jane, Mary, Edith, etc. Such names as Violet, Muriel, Rosamund and so on were not considered suitable, and the girl was told firmly, 'Whilst you are in my service you will be called "Mary"'.

Translations

female given name

• Basque: Rosamunda f
• Danish: Rosamond f
• Dutch: Rosamunde f
• French: Rosemonde (fr) f
• German: Rosamunde f
• Italian: Rosmunda (it) f, Rosamunda f
• Latin: Rosamunda f
• Polish: Rozamunda (pl) f
• Portuguese: Rosamunda (pt) f
• Spanish: Rosamunda f
• Swedish: Rosamunda f