Rowan

How to spell rowan

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce rowan

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does rowan mean?

1. nounA small hardy tree, also called the mountain ash, that bears clusters of bright red berries.

Rowan in a sentence

• A rowan grew beside the cottage gate, heavy with red berries.

• The garden centre sold a young rowan for the windy hillside plot.

Where does rowan come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

Rowan came into English from a Scandinavian source, closely related to Old Norse reynir and the Norwegian and Swedish forms rogn and raun, all naming the same hardy mountain tree. The underlying root is thought to connect to an old word meaning 'to redden' or 'red', a fitting description of the tree's bright clusters of scarlet berries in autumn. It first appears in northern English and Scottish dialects, reflecting the strong Norse influence on the language of those regions. For centuries the rowan, also called the mountain ash, was planted near houses in Britain because folk tradition held that it warded off witches and bad luck. The spelling settled with the -an ending rather than -en, which is the small trap for writers who otherwise spell the word much as it sounds.

How the word is built

• rowan (single Scandinavian root; not decomposable into prefix, root, and suffix)