Hungary Water

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Made of rosemary flowers and spirit, said to be so called because the receipt was given by a hermit to a Queen of Hungary.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Hungary Water” mean?

Made of rosemary flowers and spirit, said to be so called because the receipt was given by a hermit to a Queen of Hungary.

Is “Hungary Water” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.