A type of lyrical poetry, traditionally Provençal, about lovers who must part at dawn.
"The librarian carefully cataloged each alba from the rare music collection."
A white-flowered shrub rose of the hybrid Rosa × alba.
plural of album
In plain English: An alba is an old Scottish poem that tells about someone leaving home early for war or adventure while their family and friends are still asleep.
"The alba roused the sleeping knights at dawn."
Usage: Use alba to refer specifically to a medieval lyric poem set just before sunrise or to the white-flowered shrub known as the Chinese rose, rather than using it for general dawn imagery or other roses. This term is highly specialized and should not be confused with common words like "morning" or generic flower names in everyday conversation.
A county of Transylvania, Romania.
"The historical records mention Alba as a prominent county in Transylvania, Romania."
The word alba entered English around 1821 by borrowing the term for "morning dress" or "nightshirt" directly from the Occitan language. This loanword traces its roots back to Latin, where it originally meant "white," a meaning that aligns with how Spanish uses the same root today.