English
herb
Herb comes from Middle English herbe ‘a herbaceous plant’, from Old French erbe ‘grass’, and ultimately from Latin herba.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEherba‘grass, herbage’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400erbe‘grass’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herbe‘a herbaceous plant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667herb
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEherba‘grass, herbage’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400erbe‘grass’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500herbe‘a herbaceous plant’
- Englishearliest quotation 1667herb
Earliest quotation: 1667, John Milton, Book IV: “flocks grazing the tender herb”.
The story
Initial h was restored to the spelling in the 15th century on the basis of Latin, but it remained mute until the 19th century and still is for many speakers.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to grow, become green’
green, grow, grass, groom, gourmet, graze, greedily, ambergris, yerba, 18 more
through Old French erbe ‘grass’
Today it means
noun A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin herba / herb