any of various Australian parrots of the genus Platycercus, such as P. elegans (crimson rosella), often kept as cage birds
Word origin
C19: probably alteration of Rose-hiller, after Rose Hill, Parramatta, near Sydney
rosella in American English
(rouˈzelə)
noun
any of several large, colorful parakeets of the genus Platycercus, of Australia
Word origin
[1820–30; alter. of Rosehill, district in southeast Australia]This word is first recorded in the period 1820–30. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: exogenous, karma, morphology, myth, takeoff