herb
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.
- 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 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?
- 1973, Joe C. Huang, “The Formative Years - The Village”, in Heroes and Villains in Communist China: The Contemporary Chinese Novel as a Reflection of Life[1], New York: Pica Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 33:
- For twenty-five years he has done all sorts of odd jobs: digging ginseng (a herb) in the Long White Mountains, fishing in the Black River, and washing gold dust at Hailanpao. Without this education, he would never have become an undaunted revolutionary.
- (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 IV”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
- flocks grazing the tender herb
- (countable, US, slang) (always with pronounced /h/) 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.”
Hyponyms edit
- See also Thesaurus:seasoning
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
|
|
|
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”)
- (figurative, chiefly of events or deeds) harsh; hard
Declension edit
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
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 |
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
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 |
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | |||
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 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 edit
Noun edit
herb m inan
- (heraldry) coat of arms
- (heraldry) armigerous clan; cf. Polish heraldry
Declension edit
Derived terms edit
- herbować impf
Descendants edit
Further reading edit
Romanian edit
Etymology edit
Noun edit
herb n (plural herburi)
Declension edit
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) herb | herbul | (niște) herburi | herburile |
genitive/dative | (unui) herb | herbului | (unor) herburi | herburilor |
vocative | herbule | herburilor |
References edit
Zazaki edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Arabic حَرْب (ḥarb, “war”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
herb