English Online Dictionary. What means herb? What does herb mean?
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 on Latin, but it remained mute until the 19th century and still is for many speakers.
Pronunciation
- (UK, General Australian, New Zealand) enPR: hû(r)b, IPA(key): /hɜːb/
- (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.
- (uncountable, slang) Cannabis.
- Synonyms: grass, weed; see also Thesaurus:marijuana
- (countable, botany) A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season
- (uncountable, obsolete) Grass; herbage.
- (countable, US, slang) (always with pronounced /h/) A lame or uncool person.
Hyponyms
- See also Thesaurus:seasoning
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Anagrams
- Behr, Hebr., breh, hreb
German
Etymology
From Middle High German hare, here (inflected harwe, herwe), from Old High German *haro, from Proto-West Germanic *haru.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /hɛrp/, [hɛɐ̯p], [hɛʁp]
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
Derived terms
- Herbheit
Further reading
- “herb” in Duden online
- “herb” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
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
- IPA(key): /xɛrp/
- Rhymes: -ɛrp
- Syllabification: herb
Noun
herb m inan
- (heraldry) coat of arms
- (heraldry) armigerous clan; cf. Polish heraldry
Declension
Derived terms
Descendants
- → Russian: герб (gerb), гербъ (gerb)
- → Azerbaijani: gerb
- → Kildin Sami: ге̄ррп (gierrp)
- → Latvian: ģerbonis
- → Macedonian: грб (grb)
- → Uzbek: gerb
- → Yiddish: הערב (herb)
Further reading
- herb in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- herb in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from Polish herb.
Noun
herb n (plural herburi)
- (heraldry, dated) coat of arms
Declension
References
- herb in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN
Zazaki
Alternative forms
- herf
Etymology
From Arabic حَرْب (ḥarb, “war”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /herb/
Noun
herb
- (dated) war
Synonyms
- lec
- lej