The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #49672   Message #750701
Posted By: greg stephens
18-Jul-02 - 06:17 PM
Thread Name: Origins: Ring around the Rosy / Rosey
Subject: RE: Ring Around The Rosey's History??
My dictionary gives 16th century as first appearance of the word "posy"....so the rhyme presumably dates from after that.(though an earlier form without the roses/posies rhyme could be predate it of course). It could easily have existed unrecorded from 1680-1880....much longer definitely seems unlikely to me. I665 wasn't the last plague either, just the last Big One.