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herb
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English
Etymology
From Middle English herbe, erbe, from Old French erbe (French herbe), from Latin herba. Initial h was restored to the spelling in the 15th century on the basis of Latin, but it remained mute until the 19th century and still is for many speakers. Doublet of yerba.
Pronunciation
- (UK, General Australian, New Zealand) enPR: hû(r)b, IPA(key): /hɜːb/
Audio (General Australian): (file)
- (US, Canada) enPR: (h)ûrb, IPA(key): /(h)ɝb/
- North American pronunciation of the word varies; some speakers include the /h/ sound and others omit it, with the /h/-less pronunciation being the more common. Individual speakers are usually consistent in their choice, but the choice does not appear to be correlated with any regional, socioeconomic, or educational distinctions.
- Outside of North America, the /h/-less pronunciation is restricted to speakers who have a general tendency to "drop the h" in all words.
- The /h/-less pronunciation is the older; the pronunciation with /h/ is a later spelling pronunciation.
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)b
- Homophone: Herb (for the pronunciation /hɜː(ɹ)b/)
Noun
herb (countable and uncountable, plural herbs)
- (countable) Any green, leafy plant, or parts thereof, used to flavour or season food.
- (countable) A plant whose roots, leaves or seeds, etc. are used in medicine.
- If any medicinal herbs used by witches were supposedly evil, then how come people from at least the past benefited from the healing properties of such herbs?
- 1973, Joe C. Huang, “The Formative Years - The Village”, in Heroes and Villains in Communist China: The Contemporary Chinese Novel as a Reflection of Life, New York: Pica Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 33:
- For twenty-five years he has done all sorts of odd jobs: digging ginseng (a herb) in the Long White Mountains, fishing in the Black River, and washing gold dust at Hailanpao. Without this education, he would never have become an undaunted revolutionary.
- (uncountable, slang) Cannabis.
- Synonyms: grass, weed; see also Thesaurus:marijuana
- 1981 February 14, Andrea Loewenstein, “Voices in the Night”, in Gay Community News, volume 8, number 29, page 8:
- The room was thick and sour with the smell of herb.
- 1995, Harmony Korine, Kids, spoken by Casper:
- You think he's got any herb?
- (countable, botany) A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season
- (uncountable, obsolete) Grass; herbage.
- 1667, John Milton, “Book IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- flocks grazing the tender herb
- (countable, US, slang) (always with pronounced /h/) A lame or uncool person.
- 2008, Maryann Dickar, Corridor Cultures: Mapping Student Resistance at an Urban School, page 88:
- George (AO) describes the tie between fighting and respect: 'Cause some people could come up to you and say, “Ah, he's a herb, he can't fight. He's nothing.”
Hyponyms
- See also Thesaurus:seasoning
Derived terms
- African dream herb
- cowherb
- death's herb
- devil's herb
- fuller's herb
- herbarian
- herb bennet
- herb box
- herb butter
- herb Christopher
- herbed
- herb Gerard
- herbiferous
- herbish
- herbist
- herb knife
- herbland
- herbless
- herblike
- herblore
- herbmaster
- herbmistress
- herb of grace
- herb of repentance
- herb of the cross
- herbology
- herbous
- herb paris
- herb-paris
- herb Peter
- herb Robert
- herbs and spices
- herb tea
- herb trinity
- herb twopence
- herbwoman
- megaherb
- multiherb
- paleoherb
- potherb
- rice paddy herb
- strewing herb
- superherb
- willowherb
- willow herb
Related terms
Translations
plant used to flavour food
|
plant used in medicine
|
slang: marijuana
|
Anagrams
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German
Etymology
From Middle High German hare, here (inflected harwe, herwe), from Old High German *haro, from Proto-West Germanic *haru.
Pronunciation
Adjective
herb (strong nominative masculine singular herber, comparative herber, superlative am herbsten)
- (of food and drink, e.g. beer) slightly bitter or sharp to the taste, often in a pleasant way; tart (but not in the sense of “sour”)
- (figurative, chiefly of events or deeds) harsh; hard
Declension
Positive forms of herb
Comparative forms of herb
Superlative forms of herb
Derived terms
- Herbheit
Further reading
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Polish
Etymology
Borrowed from Old Czech erb, herb, from Middle High German erbe (“heritage”), from Old High German erbi, from Proto-West Germanic *arbī, from Proto-Germanic *arbiją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃orbʰ-yo-m, from the root *h₃erbʰ- (“to change allegiance, status, ownership”). Compare German Erbe.
Pronunciation
Noun
herb m inan
- (heraldry) coat of arms
- (heraldry) armigerous clan; cf. Polish heraldry
Declension
Declension of herb
Derived terms
adjectives
- herbowny
- herbowy
nouns
- herbarz
- herbowiec
- herbownik
verb
- herbować impf
Descendants
Further reading
Romanian
Etymology
Noun
herb n (plural herburi)
Declension
References
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Zazaki
Alternative forms
Etymology
Pronunciation
Noun
herb
Synonyms
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