herb
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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[edit]
- (UK, General Australian, New Zealand) enPR: hû(r)b, IPA(key): /hɜːb/
Audio (Australia) (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.
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)b
- Homophone: Herb (for the pronunciation /hɜː(ɹ)b/)
Noun[edit]
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?
- (uncountable, slang) Cannabis.
- Synonyms: grass, weed; see also Thesaurus:marijuana
- 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 4”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:
- flocks grazing the tender herb
- (countable, US, slang) 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.”
- 2008, Maryann Dickar, Corridor Cultures: Mapping Student Resistance at an Urban School (page 88)
Hyponyms[edit]
- See also Thesaurus:seasoning
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
plant used to flavour food
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plant used in medicine
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slang: marijuana
Anagrams[edit]
German[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle High German hare, here (inflected harwe, herwe), from Old High German *haro, from Proto-West Germanic *haru.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
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”)
- (figuratively, chiefly of events or deeds) harsh; hard
Declension[edit]
Positive forms of herb
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist herb | sie ist herb | es ist herb | sie sind herb | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | herber | herbe | herbes | herbe |
genitive | herben | herber | herben | herber | |
dative | herbem | herber | herbem | herben | |
accusative | herben | herbe | herbes | herbe | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der herbe | die herbe | das herbe | die herben |
genitive | des herben | der herben | des herben | der herben | |
dative | dem herben | der herben | dem herben | den herben | |
accusative | den herben | die herbe | das herbe | die herben | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein herber | eine herbe | ein herbes | (keine) herben |
genitive | eines herben | einer herben | eines herben | (keiner) herben | |
dative | einem herben | einer herben | einem herben | (keinen) herben | |
accusative | einen herben | eine herbe | ein herbes | (keine) herben |
Comparative forms of herb
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist herber | sie ist herber | es ist herber | sie sind herber | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | herberer | herbere | herberes | herbere |
genitive | herberen | herberer | herberen | herberer | |
dative | herberem | herberer | herberem | herberen | |
accusative | herberen | herbere | herberes | herbere | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der herbere | die herbere | das herbere | die herberen |
genitive | des herberen | der herberen | des herberen | der herberen | |
dative | dem herberen | der herberen | dem herberen | den herberen | |
accusative | den herberen | die herbere | das herbere | die herberen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein herberer | eine herbere | ein herberes | (keine) herberen |
genitive | eines herberen | einer herberen | eines herberen | (keiner) herberen | |
dative | einem herberen | einer herberen | einem herberen | (keinen) herberen | |
accusative | einen herberen | eine herbere | ein herberes | (keine) herberen |
Superlative forms of herb
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist am herbsten | sie ist am herbsten | es ist am herbsten | sie sind am herbsten | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | herbster | herbste | herbstes | herbste |
genitive | herbsten | herbster | herbsten | herbster | |
dative | herbstem | herbster | herbstem | herbsten | |
accusative | herbsten | herbste | herbstes | herbste | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der herbste | die herbste | das herbste | die herbsten |
genitive | des herbsten | der herbsten | des herbsten | der herbsten | |
dative | dem herbsten | der herbsten | dem herbsten | den herbsten | |
accusative | den herbsten | die herbste | das herbste | die herbsten | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein herbster | eine herbste | ein herbstes | (keine) herbsten |
genitive | eines herbsten | einer herbsten | eines herbsten | (keiner) herbsten | |
dative | einem herbsten | einer herbsten | einem herbsten | (keinen) herbsten | |
accusative | einen herbsten | eine herbste | ein herbstes | (keine) herbsten |
Derived terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
Polish[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Old Czech herb, from Middle High German erbe (“heritage”). Compare German Erbe.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
herb m inan
- (heraldry) coat of arms
- (heraldry) armigerous clan; cf. Polish heraldry
Declension[edit]
Declension of herb
Descendants[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- herb in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
- herb in Polish dictionaries at PWN
Zazaki[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
herb
Synonyms[edit]
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)b
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)b/1 syllable
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
- English slang
- English terms with quotations
- en:Botany
- English terms with obsolete senses
- American English
- en:Marijuana
- en:Seasonings
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms inherited from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German 1-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German adjectives
- de:Beer
- Polish terms borrowed from Old Czech
- Polish terms derived from Old Czech
- Polish terms derived from Middle High German
- Polish 1-syllable words
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish terms with audio links
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛrp
- Rhymes:Polish/ɛrp/1 syllable
- Polish lemmas
- Polish nouns
- Polish masculine nouns
- Polish inanimate nouns
- pl:Heraldry
- Zazaki terms with IPA pronunciation
- Zazaki lemmas
- Zazaki nouns
- Zazaki dated terms