herb

See also: Herb, hərb, and herb.

English

Etymology

From Middle English erbe, borrowed 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
  • (UK, General Australian, General New Zealand) enPR: hû(r)b, IPA(key): /hɜːb/
    • Audio (RP)(file)
  • (US, Canada) enPR: (h)ûrb, IPA(key): /(h)ɝb/
    • Audio (US) [with silent ‹h›](file)
    • Audio (US) [with ‹h› pronounced as /h/](file)
  • 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

Noun

herb (countable and uncountable, plural herbs)

  1. (countable) Any green, leafy plant, or parts thereof, used to flavour or season food.
  2. (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?
  3. (uncountable, slang, euphemistic) Marijuana.
  4. (countable, botany) A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season
  5. (uncountable, obsolete) Grass; herbage.
    • (Can we date this quote?) John Milton
      flocks grazing the tender herb

Synonyms

Hyponyms

Translations

Anagrams

German

Etymology

From Middle High German hare, from Old High German *haro, from Proto-Germanic *harwaz.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [hɛɐ̯p]
  • Audio(file)
  • Audio (Austria)(file)

Adjective

herb (comparative herber, superlative am herbsten)

  1. tart, bitter
  2. harsh

Declension
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

Further reading
  • herb in Duden online

Polish

Etymology

From Middle High German erbe (“heritage”). Compare German Erbe.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /xɛrp/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

herb m inan

  1. (heraldry) coat of arms

Declension
declension of herb
singular plural
nominative herb herby
genitive herbu herbów
dative herbowi herbom
accusative herb herby
instrumental herbem herbami
locative herbie herbach
vocative herbie herby

Descendants

Zazaki

Alternative forms

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /herb/

Noun

herb

  1. (dated) war

Synonyms
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