EuroLex/E/Gardenia

  • Original language: English/Neo-Latin (with Latin ending -ia)
  • Original form and meaning: 'a shrub with large white or yellow flowers and a fragrant scent', named after the Scottish naturalist Alexander Garden (died 1791) [source: DEA*/CODEE**]


(Note: If the status is not specifically indicated then the word is stylistically neutral and generally used; if earlier meaning and status equals current use the former may be expressed by writing "dito". Cf. also the project guidelines.)


Language Form Date of Borrowing (and Obsolescence) Current Meaning and Status Earlier Meanings and Statusses Source
Catalan ... ... '...' '...' ...
Croatian gardenia [pronunciation like spelling suggests] ? see above; status: restricted use dito DEA*
Czech ... ... '...' '...' ...
Danish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Dutch gardenia mid20c see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English, use restricted: technical dito DEA*
English gardenia 18c see above dito CODEE**/DEA*
Estonian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Finnish gardenia ? see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English dito DEA*
French gardénia [gaRdenja] end18c see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English, restricted use: technical dito DEA*
Frisian ... ... '...' '...' ...
German Gardenie [garde:njə] 19c see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English, restricted use: technical dito DEA*
Hungarian gardénia ['garde:nia] end19c see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English, restricted use: technical dito DEA*
Irish ... ... '...' '...' ...
Italian gardenia [gardεnia] beg19c see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English dito DEA*
Latvian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Lithuanian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Maltese ... ... '...' '...' ...
Norwegian gardenia [gar'de:nia] 19c see above, status: not (or no longer) recognized as English dito DEA*
Polish gardenia [gardenia] beg20c see above; status: restricted use: technical dito DEA*
Portuguese ... ... '...' '...' ...
Rumantsch ... ... '...' '...' ...
Slovak ... ... '...' '...' ...
Slovenian ... ... '...' '...' ...
Spanish gardenia [gar'denia] 19c see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English dito DEA*
Swedish ... ... '...' '...' ...
  • Annotations: *DEA = Dictionary of European Anglicisms by Manfred Görlach (2001), Oxford: OUP.; **CODEE = Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology by T.F. Hoad (1986), Oxford: Clarendon.

This word has largely lost his "Englishness" due to the neo-Latin ending and the pronunciations according to national conventions.

  • Information on Other Languages: Icelandic: gardenía [kartenija], 1940s, via Danish; meaning: see above; status: fully accepted but still marked as English; Romanian: gardenie [pronunciation like spelling suggests], beg20c, via French; meaning: see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English; Russian: gardeniya [stress on second syllable], beg20c; meaning: see above; status: restricted use: technical; Bulgarian: gardeniya [stress on second syllable], beg20c, not (or no longer) recognized as English, but restricted to technical use; Greek: ghardhenia [stress on second syllable], date of borrowing: ?; meaning: see above; status: not (or no longer) recognized as English.,