ginseng

gin·seng

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

Origin of ginseng

Chinese j?n sh?n from j?n, man (from the shape of the root) + sh?n, the constellation Orion

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)
such a root, or a preparation made from it, used as a tonic

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"ginseng." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 August 2018. <http://www.yourdictionary.com/ginseng>.

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ginseng. (n.d.). Retrieved August 17th, 2018, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/ginseng

ginseng

noun

Any of several plants of the genus Panax, especially P. ginseng of East Asia or P. quinquefolius of North America, having small greenish flowers grouped in umbels, palmately compound leaves, and forked roots used in herbal medicine.
The roots or preparations of the roots of any of these plants.

Origin of ginseng

Mandarin rénshēn from Middle Chinese rin &shookr;əm rin human being, person &shookr;əm ginseng ( the plant perhaps being so called in Middle Chinese because its forked root resembles the human figure )

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"ginseng." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 August 2018. <http://www.yourdictionary.com/ginseng>.

APA Style

ginseng. (n.d.). Retrieved August 17th, 2018, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/ginseng

Noun

(plural ginsengs)

Any of several plants, of the genus Panax, having forked roots supposed to have medicinal properties.
The root of such a plant, or an extract of these roots.

Origin

From Mandarin trad. 人蔘, simpl. 人参 (pinyin: rénshēn).

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"ginseng." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 August 2018. <http://www.yourdictionary.com/ginseng>.

APA Style

ginseng. (n.d.). Retrieved August 17th, 2018, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/ginseng

ginseng

ginseng

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