ginseng Hear it!

ginseng definition

gin·seng (jin′seŋ′)

adjective

designating a family (Araliaceae, order Apiales) of dicotyledonous plants, shrubs, and trees, usually having flat clusters of small, white or greenish flowers and, often, fragrant leaves, including Hercules'-club and English ivy

Etymology: Chin jēn shēn < jēn, man (from the shape of the root) + shēn, the constellation Orion

noun

  1. any of several perennial herbs (genus Panax) of the ginseng family, with thick, forked, aromatic roots, esp. a Chinese species (P. pseudoginseng) and a North American species (P. quinquefolium)
  2. such a root, or a preparation made from it, used as a tonic

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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