herb

[urb or, esp. British, hurb] /ɜrb or, esp. British, hɜrb/
noun
1.
a flowering plant whose stem above ground does not become woody.
2.
such a plant when valued for its medicinal properties, flavor, scent, or the like.
3.
Often, the herb. Slang. marijuana.
4.
Archaic. herbage.
Idioms
5.
give it the herbs, Australian Slang. to use full power, especially in accelerating a car.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English herbe < Old French erbe, herbe < Latin herba
Related forms
herbless, adjective
herblike, adjective

Herb

[hurb] /hɜrb/
noun
1.
a male given name, form of Herbert.
Examples from the web for herb
  • A drug, herb, or other agent administered as a strong laxative is termed a cathartic.
  • As a herb, sage is considered to have a slight peppery flavour.
British Dictionary definitions for herb

herb

/hɜːb; US ɜːrb/
noun
1.
a seed-bearing plant whose aerial parts do not persist above ground at the end of the growing season; herbaceous plant
2.
  1. any of various usually aromatic plants, such as parsley, rue, and rosemary, that are used in cookery and medicine
  2. (as modifier): a herb garden
3.
(Caribbean) a slang term for marijuana
Derived Forms
herblike, adjective
Word Origin
C13: from Old French herbe, from Latin herba grass, green plants
Word Origin and History for herb
n.

c.1300, erbe "non-woody plant," from Old French erbe "grass, herb, plant" (12c.), from Latin herba "grass, an herb, herbage, turf." Refashioned after Latin since 15c., but the h- was mute until 19c. Slang meaning "marijuana" is attested from 1960s.

herb in Science
herb
  (ûrb)   
A flowering plant whose stem does not produce woody tissue and generally dies back at the end of each growing season. Both grasses and forbs are herbs.

herbaceous adjective (hûr-bā'shəs, ûr-)
Slang definitions & phrases for herb

herb 1

noun

A tedious, contemptible person; dork, geek, nerd: think you're a couple of reality-impaired herbs (1990s+ Students)


herb 2

noun

Marijuana; pot: So you get fines to pay and you've lost your herbs (1960s+ Narcotics)


herb in the Bible

(1.) Heb. 'eseb, any green plant; herbage (Gen. 1:11, 12, 29, 30; 2:5; 3:18, etc.); comprehending vegetables and all green herbage (Amos 7:1, 2). (2.) _Yarak_, green; any green thing; foliage of trees (2 Kings 19:26; Ps. 37:2); a plant; herb (Deut. 11:10). (3.) _Or_, meaning "light" In Isa. 26:19 it means "green herbs;" in 2 Kings 4:39 probably the fruit of some plant. (4.) _Merorim_, plural, "bitter herbs," eaten by the Israelites at the Passover (Ex. 12:8; Num. 9:11). They were bitter plants of various sorts, and referred symbolically to the oppression in Egypt.