Rhododendron
/ˌroʊdəˈdɛn.drən/noun
A shrub or small tree with clusters of showy flowers, often evergreen.
Did you know?The name was coined in Ancient Greek from rhódon (“rose”) + déndron (“tree”), so the word itself is an ancient act of naming by combining beauty and growth.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ῥοδόδενδρον (rhodódendron)
“literally “rose tree,” a compound used for a flowering plant”
Late Latin
Latin
rhododendron
“a borrowed botanical term”
16th Century
English
rhododendre / rhododendron
“a plant name adopted from scholarly Latin and Greek sources”
Modern English
English
rhododendron
“a genus of ornamental flowering shrubs and trees”