rosemaling

See also: rosemåling

English

WOTD – 2 January 2017

An example of rosemaling at the Uvdal Stave Church in Udval, Norway

Etymology

Borrowed from Norwegian Bokmål rosemaling (“rose painting”), from rose (“rose”) + maling (“painting”) (from male (“to paint”) (cognate with Old Danish malæ (Danish male), Old Norse mála, Old Swedish mala (Swedish mala), from Middle Low German mālen (“to paint”)) + -ing (suffix used to form nouns from verbs)).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɹəʊzəˌmɑːlɪŋ/, /-sə-/, /-ˌmɔː-/

• Audio (Southern England):

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• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɹoʊzəˌmɑlɪŋ/
• Hyphenation: ros‧e‧mal‧ing

Noun

rosemaling (uncountable)

1. (US) A Norwegian style of stylized floral decoration with scrollwork and geometric elements. [from 1940s.]
   • 1957, Sons of Norway, volume 54, Minneapolis, Minn.: Grand Lodge, Sons of Norway, →OCLC, page 209:

     Rosemaling is the most recent of the Norwegian peasant crafts.

   • 1989, Marion J. Nelson, “Folk Art in Minnesota and the Case of the Norwegian American”, in Circles of Tradition: Folk Arts in Minnesota, St. Paul, Minn.: Published for the University of Minnesota Art Museum by the Minnesota Historical Society Press, →ISBN, page 38:

     The recent ethnic and arts and crafts revivals are reflected directly in what has happened among the Norwegians in Minnesota. For them the movement began with rosemaling, which in Minnesota has roots going back to about 1940. No rosemaling was done in Minnesota previously on which to base the movement. It was a direct extension of a slightly earlier rosemaling revival in Wisconsin, […]

   • 2006, Philip Nusbaum, “Rosemaling”, in Richard Sisson, Christian Zacher, Andrew [R. L.] Cayton, editors, The American Midwest: An Interpretive Encyclopedia, Bloomington, Ind.: Indiana University Press, →ISBN, page 410:

     Among the traditions the immigrants [from Norway to the US Upper Midwest] brought with them was rosemaling, decorative painting of stylized flowers and scrolls, with occasional figures. Originally painted onto the interior walls of peasant homes in Norway, rosemaling also adorned furniture, such as the Amerika trunks the immigrants used for storing valuables over their ocean voyages to the New World.

   • 2016, Melissa Bahen, “Afternoon Fika”, in Scandinavian Gatherings: From Afternoon Fika to Midsummer Feast: 70 Simple Recipes & Crafts for Everyday Celebrations, Seattle, Wash.: Sasquatch Books, →ISBN, page 78:

     You've probably seen rosemåling before, even if the word is new to you. It's a style of Norwegian folk painting that features leaves, flowers, geometric patterns, and lush scrollwork. Since my family is very proud of its Norwegian heritage, and since both my mom and nana were really interested in folk painting when I was growing up, I've been surrounded by rosemåling for as long as I can remember.

Alternative forms

• rosemåling (from Norwegian Nynorsk)

Derived terms

• rosemaled
• rosemaler

Translations

Translations

• Dutch: rosemaling f

References

• “rosemaling”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

• Rosemåling on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from Norwegian Bokmål rosemaling (“rose painting”), from rose (“rose”) + maling (“painting”), also reanalyzable as Dutch roos (“rose”) + maling (“(archaic) painting”).

Noun

rosemaling f (plural rosemalingen, diminutive rosemalingetje n)

1. rosemaling

Hypernyms

• bloemschildering

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From rose +‎ maling.

Noun

rosemaling f or m (definite singular rosemalinga or rosemalingen, indefinite plural rosemalinger, definite plural rosemalingene)

1. Rosemaling.

References

• “rosemaling” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From rose +‎ måling.

Noun

rosemaling f (definite singular rosemalinga, indefinite plural rosemalingar, definite plural rosemalingane)

1. Alternative form of rosemåling

References

• “rosemaling” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.