neroli
/ˈnɛɹəli/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.80 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
3
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
More fully neroli oil or oil of neroli: an essential oil distilled from the blossoms of the bitter orange or Seville orange (Citrus × aurantium subsp. amara) used to make perfumes.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "NEROLY, a ſort of Perfume."
- "[page 26] Along with that double orange flower water, the neroly or quinteſſence of orange flowers will come alſo; but as this quinteſſence is the oily part it will ſwim at top; that neroly is firſt of a green colour, but after a few days it turns of a reddiſh one. [...] [page 27] [T]he neroly is ſtill infinitely ſuperior to that double water itſelf, and can admit of no compariſon at all; for half a gill of neroly does more than a quart and more of double water; [...]"
- "Bouquet is the white curd soap perfumed with bergamot, oils of cloves, sassafras, thyme, and neroli, and coloured with brown ochre."
- "[page 78] Now, when orange-flowers are distilled with water, we procure the otto of the blossom, which is known commercially as oil of neroli. The neroli procured from the flowers of the Citrus aurantium is considered to be of the finest quality, and is called "neroli petale." [...] [page 79] The water used for distillation in procuring the neroli, when well freed from the oil, is imported into this country under the name of eau de fleur d'orange, and may be used, like elder-flower and rose-water, for the skin, and as an eye lotion."
- "[P]our in a small portion of the tincture of orange flowers, or the least drop of the essence of neroly, and pass the mixture again through a cloth; [...]"
- "The ‘Nérolis’ are largely used for ‘Hungary Water’ and ‘Eau de Cologne,’ and ‘Petit Grain’ for scenting soap."
Etymology
Borrowed from French néroli (“neroli”), from Nerola, a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. Marie Anne de La Trémoille, princesse des Ursins (1642–1722), Princess of Nerola but originally from France, is thought to have made neroli popular as a fragrance in her country of birth around 1670. The word is cognate with Italian (obsolete) nerola, neroli.
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: néroli, nerola
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈnɛɹəli/
- British English: /ˈnɪəɹəli/