herb

The word “herb” means a plant used to flavour food, especially the leaves. In plain terms, a plant, especially one used to add flavour to cooking or used in traditional medicine.

“Herb” is pronounced hurb (/(h)ɝb/ in IPA).

Here is “herb” used in a sentence: “She sprinkled fresh herbs like basil and thyme over the pasta.”

“Herb” is a noun.

The word “herb” comes from Latin. From Old French herbe, from Latin herba ("grass, plant"). The silent "h" in British pronunciation reflects the word's French roots; American English restored the sound of the "h.".

“Herb” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Herb” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: a plant used to flavour food, especially the leaves.

An herb typically comes from the leafy green parts of a plant, such as basil, mint, or parsley, and is used to flavour food. A spice usually comes from other parts of a plant, such as seeds, bark, or roots, like cinnamon or pepper.

In American English, herb is commonly pronounced with a silent H, sounding like "erb." In British English, the H is typically pronounced, so both pronunciations are considered correct depending on the regional variety of English used.

Culinary herbs are plants used to flavour food, especially their leaves, such as thyme or oregano. Medicinal herbs are plants used in traditional or alternative medicine, valued for their supposed health effects rather than their taste.