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ro·sette (rō-zĕt)
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n.
1. An ornament or badge made of ribbon or silk that is pleated or gathered to resemble a rose and is given as an award, used to decorate clothing, or worn in the buttonhole of civilian dress to indicate the possession of certain medals or honors.
2. A roselike marking or formation, such as one of the clusters of spots on a leopard's fur.
3. Architecture A painted, carved, or sculptured ornament having a circular arrangement of parts radiating out from the center and suggesting the petals of a rose.
4. Botany A circular cluster of leaves that radiate from a center at or close to the ground, as in the dandelion.
5. An ornamental circular band surrounding the central hole of an acoustic guitar.
6. An airy, deep-fried cookie in the shape of a flower, usually sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.
7. Food formed or cut into the shape of a rose: potato rosettes; a rosette of whipped cream.
[French, from Old French, diminutive of rose, rose; see ROSE1.]
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rosette
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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