herb
Pluralherbs
- 1Any of various plants whose leaves, seeds, or other parts are used to flavor food or as medicine.
Rosemary is a strong herb, so a little goes a long way in a roast.
Many cooks grow herbs on the windowsill for easy access.
UsageBoth an herb and a herb are used, depending on whether the speaker sounds the h.
Note
The everyday kitchen sense carries the word's whole history in its first letter. Middle English wrote both herbe and erbe, borrowed through Old French from Latin herba. The h was restored to the spelling in the fifteenth century to match the Latin, but it stayed silent until the nineteenth, and for many speakers it still is.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Middle English had herbe and erbe, borrowed through Old French from Latin herba. en.wiktionary.org
- The spelling's h was restored in the fifteenth century under Latin influence, but remained silent until the nineteenth century. en.wiktionary.org
- 2A plant with no persistent woody stem, whose growth above ground dies back at the end of the growing season, though its roots may live on for years.
Botanists classify the sunflower as an herb despite its height.
Unlike shrubs, herbs lack woody tissue and wither each year.
Note
Botany judges a plant by its stem, not by its use. Anything whose stem stays soft and dies back at the end of each growing season qualifies. A towering sunflower is an herb here, while flavor and healing are beside the point. In scientific writing the contrast is with shrubs and trees. Mixing this up with the kitchen meaning is the usual source of confusion.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 3 facts
- The botanical category concerns nonwoody stems; plants with soft stems that die back seasonally qualify. en.wikipedia.org
- Sunflowers are herbs in the botanical sense, regardless of culinary or medicinal use. animals.sandiegozoo.org
- Botanical herbs contrast with woody shrubs and trees. en.wikipedia.org
- 3A slang term for cannabis.
The room smelled strongly of herb after the party.
He rolled the herb carefully before lighting it.
UsageUsually some herb or any herb: got any herb?
Similarweed, cannabis, dope, grass, ganja
Note
People ask whether someone has any herb, never for an herb. Harmony Korine's Kids (1995) puts exactly that question in Casper's mouth.
Less common meanings
- 4A person regarded as lame or uncool.
He acted like such a herb at the party that nobody wanted to talk to him.
The cool kids dismissed the rest of the class as herbs.
UsageSaid with a sounded h: a herb, such a herb.
Similardork, loser, nerd, dweeb, square
Note
In the school talk Maryann Dickar records in Corridor Cultures (2008), a herb is someone who can't fight and earns no respect.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Maryann Dickar wrote Corridor Cultures, published in 2008. nyupress.org
- Dickar records school talk connecting being called a herb with inability to fight and lack of respect. en.wiktionary.org
- 5Grass and low-growing green vegetation, taken collectively.
flocks grazing the tender herb
1667, John Milton, Paradise LostNote
Milton's Paradise Lost (1667) has "flocks grazing the tender herb", and that pastoral ring is all the use keeps today.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. christs.cam.ac.uk
- The quotation occurs in Paradise Lost, Book IV; its spelling has been modernized. en.wikisource.org
Practice
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Origin
Latin herba passed into Old French as erbe (modern French herbe) and from there into Middle English as herbe. In the 15th century the h was put back into the spelling to match Latin, yet it stayed silent until the 19th century, and many speakers still do not pronounce it. Yerba is a doublet.