Rose water : locut. THErose water is a liquid got from distillation de petals de Roses, possessing a flavor very perfumed and perfume rose concentrate.
The expression "Rose water": cutesy, fade, tasteless, sentimental (usually speaking of a book or a movie).
Who has not read a book from the "Harlequin" collection does not necessarily know what a real "rose water" novel is, filled with clichés, situations without real surprise or very conventional feelings.
Rose water, first called "rose water" in the XNUMXth century, then "rose water" in the XNUMXth century, is obtained by distilling rose petals.
Linguist Alain Rey situates the probable appearance of the expression towards the end of the 1826th century, but there are several works which use it towards the beginning of the same century (in 1833 or XNUMX, for example).
As to why rose water became a symbol of sentimentality, it is assumed that this is simply because the color pink was associated with femininity, therefore indirectly with good feelings, with a pejorative connotation.