dittany

English

Origanum dictamnus

Etymology

From Old French ditan (French dictame), from Latin dictamnum, from Ancient Greek δίκταμνον (díktamnon), reportedly from Δικτή (Diktḗ, “Dicte”), a mountain in Crete on whose slopes the plant grew.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɪtəni/

Noun

dittany (countable and uncountable, plural dittanies)

1. A labiate plant, Origanum dictamnus, formerly renowned for its medicinal properties; dittany of Crete.
2. A fragrant plant in the rue family, Dictamnus albus

   Synonym: fraxinella, gas plant, burning bush

3. Pseudodictamnus mediterraneus (syn. Ballota pseudodictamnus; false dittany)
4. (US) A fragrant herb in the mint family native to the eastern US, Cunila origanoides

   Synonym: common dittany, stone mint, frost mint, American dittany

Translations

dittany of Crete

• Arabic: مُشْكِطْرَامَشِير m (muškiṭrāmašīr) (obsolete)
• Bulgarian: кри́тски ри́ган m (krítski rígan)
• Catalan: marduix de Creta m
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: kreetanmeirami
• French: dictame (fr)
• German: Diptam-Dost m, Diktamo m or n, kretischer Diptam m
• Greek: δίκταμο (el) n (díktamo)

  Ancient: δίκταμνον n (díktamnon)

• Italian: dittamo (it) m
• Persian: مشکطرامشیر (mošktarâmašir)
• Russian: души́ца диктамнус f (dušíca diktamnus), души́ца кри́тская f (dušíca krítskaja)
• Slovene: jesẹ̑nček m
• Swedish: kretadiptam c
• Turkish: mercan köşk, mercanköşk (tr)

Dictamnus albus — see gas plant

Further reading

• Dittany on Wikipedia.Wikipedia