Rosetta
/roʊˈzɛtə/noun
Rosetta is the Italian name of Rashid, a port city in northern Egypt, and is best known from the Rosetta Stone.
Did you know?Rosetta is the Italian form of the Arabic name Rashid, while the city’s ancient Greek name was Bolbitine; the famous stone was named after the city.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
Βολβίτινη (Bolbitinē)
“The ancient Greek name for the Egyptian port later called Rosetta.”
Early Islamic Period
Arabic
رشيد (Rashīd)
“The Arabic name of the city, from a root associated with being rightly guided or following the correct path.”
Medieval Arabic
Arabic
الرشيد (al-Rashīd)
“A form connected with “the rightly guided,” also used as an Arabic personal and honorific name.”
16th Century
French
Rosette
“The French form used for the Egyptian city in European geographical writing.”
17th Century
Italian
Rosetta
“The Italian form of the city’s name.”
1799
English
Rosetta Stone
“The name given to the inscribed stone discovered near Rosetta during Napoleon’s Egyptian campaign.”