English
herbaceous
Herbaceous comes from Latin herbāceus ‘grassy’, and goes back to herba.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEherba‘grass, herbage’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEherbāceus‘grassy’
- Englishearliest quotation 1859herbaceous
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEherba‘grass, herbage’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEherbāceus‘grassy’
- Englishearliest quotation 1859herbaceous
Earliest quotation: 1859, Shirley Hibberd, The Town Garden: “[…] and it contains a very good selection of…”
Equivalent to herb + -aceous
Latin herba ‘grass, herbage’
Old French erbe ‘grass’
Middle English herbe ‘a herbaceous plant’
English herb
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- ‘to grow (of plants?)’
green, grow, grass, groom, gourmet, graze, greedily, ambergris, yerba, 17 more
through Latin herba ‘grass, herbage’
Today it means
adj Not woody, lacking lignified tissues.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin herba / herbaceous