# alba

Pronunciation: say "AL-buh" /ˈæl.bə/

## Noun

1. A lyric poem, traditionally from Provence, about lovers who must part at dawn.
   - Simple: A type of poem about two lovers who must say goodbye when the sun comes up.
   - _The troubadour's alba captured the sorrow of dawn pulling two lovers apart._
   - _Several albas survive from twelfth-century Provence, each lamenting the coming day._
2. A white-flowered shrub rose belonging to the hybrid group Rosa × alba.
   - Simple: A bushy rose plant with white flowers, from an old group of garden roses.
   - _The gardener pruned the alba carefully after its summer flowering._
   - _Several albas lined the old stone wall, their white blooms fragrant in the morning._
3. A flower of the hybrid rose Rosa × alba, usually white or pale pink.
   - Simple: A white flower that grows on a certain old kind of rose bush.
   - _She tucked an alba behind her ear before the dance began._
   - _The petals of each alba opened pure white in the June sun._
4. A full-length white linen vestment worn by clergy during liturgical services.
   - Simple: A long white robe that a priest wears during church services.
   - _The deacon's alba was freshly pressed for the Easter Mass._
   - _He tied a cincture around his alba before processing into the church._

## Noun

5. Plural of album. A rare form; the usual plural is albums. *(rare)* — plural of album
   - Simple: Plural of album. Use it to mean more than one album, though "albums" is far more common.

## Origin

**Meaning 1** — First recorded in 1821, this was borrowed from Occitan alba, ultimately from Latin albus ("white"); compare Spanish alba ("dawn").
**Meanings 2–3** — First recorded in 1848, it was borrowed from Latin alba, the feminine form of albus ("white"), from the now-disused species name Rosa alba, which is today regarded as a hybrid and called Rosa × alba.
**Meaning 5** — First recorded in 1859, it was borrowed from Latin alba, the nominative plural of album ("blank tablet"), the same source that gave English album.
**Meaning 4** — Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin alba ("alb"), from Latin alba (as in tunica alba, "white tunic," and vestis alba, "white garment"), the feminine of albus ("white"). It is a doublet of alb.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/alba (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).