English · Idiom Historical

Jessamy Bride

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

The fancy name given by Goldsmith to Mary Horneck when he fell in love with her in 1769. Cp. JEMMY JESSAMY.

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.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “Jessamy Bride” mean?

The fancy name given by Goldsmith to Mary Horneck when he fell in love with her in 1769. Cp. JEMMY JESSAMY.

Is “Jessamy Bride” formal or informal?

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

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