▪ I. bergamot1
(ˈbɜːgəmɒt)
Also 7–8 burg-, bourgamot, 8 burgemott.
[App. from Bergamo, the Italian town.]
I. 1. A tree of the orange and lemon kind (Citrus Bergamia); from the rind of the fruit a fragrant oil is prepared, called Essence of Bergamot. Also attrib., as in bergamot-orange, bergamot-tree.
| 1696 Lond. Gaz. No. 3196/4 A parcel of Orange and Burgamot Trees. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 150 That which bears the Name of the Cedre or Bourgamot. 1876 Harley Mat. Med. 696 The Bergamot..is regarded by Gallecio as a hybrid between the orange and lemon. |
2. The essence extracted from the fruit.
| 1766 Anstey Bath Guide iii. 67 Bring thy Essence Pot, Amber, Musk, and Bergamot. 1829 Thackeray Bk. Snobs Wks. IX. 380 The worthy dealer in bergamot. 1850 ― Pendennis xiv. (1884) 123 A delightful odour of musk and bergamot was shaken through the house. |
† 3. Snuff scented with bergamot. Also attrib.
| 1706 Songs Costume (1849) 201 A wig that's full, An empty skull, A box of burgamot. 1715 Lond. Gaz. No. 5394/4 Fine Portugal..Burgemott, and Orangere Snuffs. 1716 Cibber Love makes Man iv. iv. 66, I first introduc'd myself with a single Pinch of Bergamot. 1785 Cowper Task ii. 452 The better hand, more busy, gives the nose Its bergamot. |
4. A kind of mint (Mentha citrata) from which is obtained an oil, the odour of which resembles essence of bergamot. Wild Bergamot (in U.S.), Monarda fistulosa. Applied in Britain most commonly to Monarda didyma.
| 1843 J. Torrey N.Y. Nat. Hist. Surv.: Flora II. 59 Monarda Fistulosa..Horse Mint. Wild Bergamot. 1858 Hogg Veg. Kingd. 575 Bergamot Mint (M. citrata) has an odour of citron or lemon. 1866 Treas. Bot. I. 137 Bergamot, Mentha citrata or odorata. 1958 Popular Gardening 15 Feb. 34 All the charm of an old-world garden is fast locked in the heart of the Bergamot, botanically Monarda didyma. |
II. 5. A woven fabric or tapestry composed of a mixture of flock and hair, said to have been first produced at Bergamo in Italy.
| 1882 Beck Draper's Dict. 19 Bergamot, a common tapestry, made of ox and goats' hair with cotton or hemp. |
▪ II. bergamot2
(ˈbɜːgəmɒt)
Also 7 bargamot, bergamy, -amote, -ume, burgamet, -my, 7–8 burgamot.
[a. F. bergamotte, ad. It. bergamotta, app. a popular perversion of Turkish beg-armūdi ‘prince's pear, Bergamot’; cf. the German name Fürstenbirne.]
A fine kind of pear. Also attrib.
| 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Countr. Farm 417 The best..perrie is made of..Bargamot. 1677 Grew Anat. Plants iv. iii. ii. §1 A Burgamy, or other soft and sweet Pear. c 1680 Crys of London in Bagford Ball. I. 115 Do you want any damsons or Bergume Pare? 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 127 Bergamotes and pounder Pears. 1824 Miss Mitford Village Ser. i. (1863) 48 A pelting shower of stony bergamots. 1868 Longfellow Falc. Federigo 210 The juicy bergamot. |