Gardenia
/ˌɡɑːrˈdiːniə/noun
A genus of tropical and subtropical flowering plants in the coffee family, especially known for intensely fragrant white flowers.
Did you know?Carl Linnaeus named Gardenia in 1753 to honor Alexander Garden, a Scottish physician and naturalist who studied plants and animals in colonial South Carolina.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gher-
“To enclose, surround, or fence in”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*gardō
“An enclosed plot or cultivated space”
Old English
Old English
geard
“A yard, enclosure, or garden”
Middle English
Middle English
gardin
“A cultivated enclosed plot, borrowed through Old French”
18th Century
English
Garden
“The surname of Alexander Garden, the naturalist honored by the plant name”
1753
New Latin
Gardenia
“Linnaeus’s botanical genus name commemorating Alexander Garden”
Modern English
English
gardenia
“A fragrant flowering plant of the genus Gardenia”