primrosyadj.
/ˈprɪmrəʊzi/, U.S. /ˈprɪmˌroʊzi/ 1. Abounding in or characterized by primroses; of or belonging to a primrose; resembling a primrose, esp. in colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [adjective] > of or having primroses
primrosed1650
cowslip'd1794
primrosy1826
the world > matter > colour > named colours > yellow or yellowness > [adjective] > pale yellow > greenish
subcitrinec1386
citrinea1398
citron-coloured1574
citrean1656
citrinous1665
primrose-coloured1747
lemon-coloured1758
primrose1788
lemon-yellow1807
citron-hued1852
lemon1875
primrosy1882
citron1924
1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. 47 Primrosy is the epithet which this year will retain in my recollection.
1880 J. Hatton Three Recruits iii. vi April surely used to be a gayer, brighter, and more primrosy month..than it is now.
1882 M. Veley Damocles III. 39 A trifle pale... Almost primrosy, isn't it?
1925 D. H. Lawrence Refl. Death Porcupine 168 A primrose has its own peculiar primrosy identity.
1999 D. Huws Quarry i. 28 Its ivy-gripped stone, Its primrosy garden stepped to a river.
2. humorous. With capital initial. Of, relating to, or having the character of the Primrose League. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > British politics > British political associations > [adjective] > of or relating to Primrose League
primrose1886
primrosy1890
1890 Daily News 9 Sept. 6/5 Salvation will no more come to him by class legislation than it has reached him by doles ecclesiastical or Primrosy.
1904 Sat. Rev. 16 July 66 The meeting was distinctly Primrosey in its enthusiasm and adornments.
3. figurative. Easy or pleasurable. Cf. primrose path n. at primrose n. and adj. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > [adjective] > easy (of way or method)
readya1425
prone1475
primrosy1901
painless1908
1901 Daily Gaz. & Bull. (Williamsport, Pa.) 11 Mar. 7/2 I would not wish good fortune to come by too primrosy a way.
1959 Mil. Affairs 23 35 When my friends who are successful writers of fiction tell me..of the many weeks a year they go sailing or sun-bathing, I often regret that I followed a less ‘primrosy’ path.
1971 Lincoln (Nebraska) Star 19 Dec. a5/1 Nixon's chosen path is not as primrosy as it seems.
1987 Manch. Guardian Weekly (Nexis) 1 Feb. 20 The aardvark, the peacock, the blue-bottomed baboon..have diversified joyously in all directions, down primrosy paths and seductive sideroads, taking as it were the pretty way.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1826