Herb

• POS: Noun

CIDE DICTIONARY

Herb, n. [OE. herbe, erbe, OF. herbe, erbe, F. herbe, L. herba; perh. akin to Gr. forbh` food, pasture, fe`rbein to feed.].

•  A plant whose stem does not become woody and permanent, but dies, at least down to the ground, after flowering.  [1913 Webster]

  " Annual herbs live but one season; biennial herbs flower the second season, and then die; perennial herbs produce new stems year after year."  [1913 Webster]
•  Grass; herbage.  [1913 Webster]

  "And flocks
  Grazing the tender herb."  [1913 Webster]

Herb bennet. (Bot.) See Bennet. -- Herb Christopher (Bot.), an herb (Actæa spicata), whose root is used in nervous diseases; the baneberry. The name is occasionally given to other plants, as the royal fern, the wood betony, etc. -- Herb Gerard (Bot.), the goutweed; -- so called in honor of St. Gerard, who used to be invoked against the gout. Dr. Prior. -- Herb grace, or Herb of grace. (Bot.) See Rue. -- Herb Margaret (Bot.), the daisy. See Marguerite. -- Herb Paris (Bot.), an Old World plant related to the trillium (Paris quadrifolia), commonly reputed poisonous. -- Herb Robert (Bot.), a species of Geranium (Geranium Robertianum.)

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Herb, n.
1 any non-woody seed-bearing plant which dies down to the ground after flowering.
2 any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavouring, food, medicine, scent, etc.

Idiom

herb bennet a common yellow-flowered plant, Geum urbanum. herb Christopher a white-flowered baneberry, Actaea spicata. herb Gerard a white-flowered plant, Aegopodium podagraria. herb Paris a plant, Paris quadrifolia, with a single flower and four leaves in a cross shape on an unbranched stem. herb Robert a common cranesbill, Geranium robertianum, with red-stemmed leaves and pink flowers. herb tea an infusion of herbs. herb tobacco a mixture of herbs smoked as a substitute for tobacco.

Derivative

herbiferous adj. herblike adj.

Etymology

ME f. OF erbe f. L herba grass, green crops, herb; herb bennet prob. f. med.L herba benedicta blessed herb (thought of as expelling the Devil)

THESAURUS

Herb

Cretan dittany, algae, angelica, autophyte, balm, balsam, basil, bean, belladonna, boneset, borage, bracken, brown algae, burning bush, calendula, caraway, cardamom, castor-oil plant, chervil, chicory, climber, clover, conferva, confervoid, coriander, creeper, deadly nightshade, death camas, diatom, dill, dittany, drops, drug, electuary, elixir, ethical drug, fennel, fern, feverroot, figwort, fruits and vegetables, fucus, fungus, gas plant, generic name, ginseng, grapevine, green algae, gulfweed, hemp, henbane, herbs, heterophyte, horehound, hyssop, inhalant, ivy, kelp, legume, lentil, liana, lichen, lincture, linctus, liverwort, mandrake, marijuana, marjoram, materia medica, mayapple, medicament, medication, medicinal, medicinal herbs, medicine, mint, mixture, mold, monkshood, moss, mullein, mushroom, mustard, nonprescription drug, officinal, oregano, origanum, parasite, parasitic plant, parsley, patent medicine, pea, peppermint, perthophyte, pharmacon, physic, phytoplankton, planktonic algae, plant families, powder, preparation, prescription drug, proprietary, proprietary medicine, proprietary name, puffball, pulse, red algae, rockweed, rosemary, rue, rust, sage, saprophyte, sargasso, sargassum, savory, sea lentil, sea moss, sea wrack, seaweed, simples, smut, sorrel, spearmint, succulent, sweet woodruff, syrup, tansy, tarragon, theraputant, thyme, tisane, toadstool, tobacco, vegetable remedies, vetch, vine, wort, wrack

ROGET THESAURUS

Herb

Vegetable

N vegetable, vegetable kingdom, flora, verdure, plant, tree, shrub, bush, creeper, herb, herbage, grass, annual, perennial, biennial, triennial, exotic, timber, forest, wood, woodlands, timberland, hurst, frith, holt, weald, park, chase, greenwood, brake, grove, copse, coppice, bocage, tope, clump of trees, thicket, spinet, spinney, underwood, brushwood, scrub, boscage, bosk, ceja, chaparal, motte, arboretum, bush, jungle, prairie, heath, heather, fern, bracken, furze, gorse, whin, grass, turf, pasture, pasturage, turbary, sedge, rush, weed, fungus, mushroom, toadstool, lichen, moss, conferva, mold, growth, alfalfa, alfilaria, banyan, blow, blowth, floret, petiole, pin grass, timothy, yam, yew, zinnia, foliage, branch, bough, ramage, stem, tigella, spray, leaf, flower, blossom, bine, flowering plant, timber tree, fruit tree, pulse, legume, vegetable, vegetal, vegetive, vegitous, herbaceous, herbal, botanic, sylvan, silvan, arborary, arboreous, arborescent, arborical, woody, grassy, verdant, verdurous, floral, mossy, lignous, ligneous, wooden, leguminous, vosky, cespitose, turf-like, turfy, endogenous, exogenous, green-robed senators of mighty woods, this is the forest primeval.