Herb
Pronunciation silent <h>" data-audio="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/En-us-herb.ogg" > <h> pronounced as /h/" data-audio="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/En-us-va-herb.ogg" >
- UK enPR: hû(r)b, IPA: /hÉœËb/
- US enPR: ûrb, IPA: /Éb/, /hÉb/
- US 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 consistent in their choice, but the choice does not appear to be correlated with any regional, socioeconomic, or educational distinctions. Some UK dialects may also follow the h-dropping pronunciation where they drop all initial "h"s.
- Rhymes: -ÉœË(ɹ)b
Origin
Middle English erbe, from Old French erbe (French herbe), from Latin herba. Initial h restored 15c. after Latin but remained mute until 19c. (and still is for many).
Full definition of herb
Noun
herb
(plural herbs)- Any green, leafy plant, or parts thereof, used to flavor or season food.
- Plant whose roots, leaves or seeds, etc. are used in medicine.
- (slang, euphemistic) Marijuana.
- (botany) A plant whose stem is not woody and does not persist beyond each growing season
- (obsolete) Grass; herbage.
- Miltonflocks grazing the tender herb