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, -tree.
1696. Lond. Gaz., No. 3196/4. A parcel of Orange and Burgamot Trees.
1712. trans. 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. Ibid. (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 odor of which resembles essence of bergamot. Wild Bergamot (in U.S.), Monarda fistulosa.
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.
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.
