thyme

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English

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A thyme plant, Thymus camphoratus

Etymology

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From Middle English tyme, from Old French thym, from Latin thymum, from Ancient Greek θύμον (thúmon).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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thyme (countable and uncountable, plural thymes)

  1. Any plant of the labiate genus Thymus, such as garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris), a warm, pungent aromatic, that is much used to give a relish to seasoning and soups.

Usage notes

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  • In older Irish and British poems and songs, the plant was sometimes seen as a metaphor for virginity and chastity.
examples
  • 17th century, A Bunch of Thyme (traditional song):
    Come all ye maidens young and fair
    And you that are blooming in your prime
    Always beware and keep your garden fair
    Let no man steal away your thyme
  • 1792, Kellyburn Braes (Robert Burns Poem):
    I've got a bad wife, sir, that's a' my complaint,
    Hey, and the rue grows bonie wi' thyme;
    "For, savin your presence, to her ye're a saint,"
    And the thyme it is wither'd, and rue is in prime.
  • 19th century, A Sprig of Thyme (traditional):
    Wunst I had a sprig of thyme,
    it prospered by night and by day
    till a false young man came acourtin' te me,
    and he stole all this thyme away.

Derived terms

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Translations

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References

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Anagrams

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Latin

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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thyme

  1. vocative singular of thymus
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