# herb

Pronunciation: US say "URB" /(h)ɝb/; UK/AUS say "HURB" /hɜːb/

## Noun

1. Any of various plants whose leaves, seeds, or other parts are used to flavor food or as medicine.
   - Simple: A plant or plant part used to give food flavor or to make 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._
2. A 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.
   - Simple: A plant with a soft stem whose top part dies back each year, even if its roots stay alive.
   - _Botanists classify the sunflower as an herb despite its height._
   - _Unlike shrubs, herbs lack woody tissue and wither each year._
3. A slang term for cannabis. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A slang word for marijuana.
   - _The room smelled strongly of herb after the party._
   - _He rolled the herb carefully before lighting it._
4. A person regarded as lame or uncool. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: Someone who is uncool or not respected by others.
   - _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._

## Noun

5. Grass and low-growing green vegetation, taken collectively. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Grass and other green plants growing over the ground.

## 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.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/herb (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).