Meanings
rosewood1
plural rosewoods
- countableuncountableThe fragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra, a Brazilian tree in the legume family, which has a sweet smell.
Synonyms: Brazilian rosewood, Rio rosewood, Bahia rosewood, pianowood
- countableuncountableAny of several dozen woods, resembling that of Dalbergia nigra in some respect.
- countableuncountableThe wood of a South American tree, Aniba rosaeodora, in the laurel family, with fragrant wood from which an essential oil is distilled.
- countableuncountableWood and plant of Pterocarpus spp., for example African rosewood or mukula or Burmese rosewood (Pterocarpus indicus, syn. Pterocarpus santalinus).
Rosewood2
plural Rosewoods
- A surname.
- A placename.
- A locality in the Greater Hume council area and the Snowy Valleys council area, south eastern New South Wales, Australia.
- A locality in the Port Macquarie-Hastings council area, north eastern New South Wales, Australia.
- A town and locality in Queensland, Australia.
- A locality in Los Angeles County, California, United States.
- An unincorporated community in Levy County, Florida, United States, the site of the Rosewood massacre of 1923.
- An unincorporated community in the town of Dover, Racine County, Wisconsin, United States.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe fragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra, a Brazilian tree in the legume family, which has a sweet smell.
More synonyms by meaning
nounany of those hardwood trees of the genus Dalbergia that yield rosewood — valuable cabinet woods of a dark red or purplish color streaked and variegated with black
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
rosewood · noun
A compound of rose + wood, originally so named because of the rose-scented aromatic oil derived from it; applied in later senses on account of these woods’ predominantly reddish-brown colour.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian палисандър
- палисандър (palisandăr)fragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra
Catalan palissandre
- palissandrefragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra
Chinese Mandarin 紅木 /红木
- 紅木 /红木 (hóngmù)fragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra
German Rio-Palisander, Bahia- und Brasilianisches Rosenholz
- Rio-Palisanderfragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra
- Bahia- und Brasilianisches Rosenholzfragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra
- Palisanderfragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra
Polish palisander
- palisanderfragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra
Russian палисандр, палисандр
- палисандр (palisandr)fragrant wood of Dalbergia nigra
- палисандр (palisandr)any of many woods that resemble Dalbergia nigra
Cite this entry
rosewood. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rosewood
“rosewood.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rosewood. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “rosewood,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/rosewood.
Source: rosewood on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.