herb

B2 Topic:Senses & Perception

US /(h)ɝb/ UK /hɜːb/ See IPA manual

Freq #7702

Meanings

1

noun
A plant whose leaves or seeds are used to add flavour to food.

She added fresh herbs like basil and mint to the salad.
2

noun
A plant used in medicine.

Some people drink herb teas to help them sleep.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a plant whose leaves or... herbaceous plant

Word family

Forms herbs

Derived forms cowherbherb-parisherbarianherbedherbiferousherbishherbistherblandherblessherblikeherbloreherbmaster

Related forms arbour herbaceous herbageherbalherbariumherbicidalherbicide herbivore herbivorousherbletpseudoherb

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.

*gʰreh₁- Proto-Indo-European herbe Middle English erbe Old French herba Latin

View etymology graph ->

External links

# herb

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /(h)ɝb/
**IPA (UK):** /hɜːb/
**Frequency rank:** 7702

## Meanings
1. A plant whose leaves or seeds are used to add flavour to food.
2. A plant used in medicine.

## Examples
- She added fresh herbs like basil and mint to the salad.
- Some people drink herb teas to help them sleep.

## Derived Forms
- cowherb
- herb-paris
- herbarian
- herbed
- herbiferous
- herbish
- herbist
- herbland
- herbless
- herblike
- herblore
- herbmaster

## Related Forms
- arbour
- herbaceous
- herbage
- herbal
- herbarium
- herbicidal
- herbicide
- herbivore
- herbivorous
- herblet
- pseudoherb

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *gʰreh₁-
- Root: herbe
- Root: erbe
- Root: herba

## 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.

## AI Etymology
Herb comes 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. The historical line also includes *gʰreh₁- (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “A plant whose leaves or seeds are used to add flavour to food” and “A plant used in medicine”.

## Topics
- Senses & Perception

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herb

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