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spearmint

[speer-mint]
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noun
  1. an aromatic herb, Mentha spicata, having lance-shaped leaves used for flavoring.

Origin of spearmint

First recorded in 1530–40; spear1 + mint1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for spearmint

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • When I got my letter, I was in the gardin, right there by the spearmint bed.

  • He seemed to think that Spearmint had taken a liberty with his name, and even to resent it.

  • Balm, peppermint, spearmint, and other teas are made in the same way.

  • He bent down to regard a lean file of spearmint growing by the wall.

    Ulysses

    James Joyce

  • I've got an important message for General Weatherby, at Spearmint.

    Triplanetary

    Edward Elmer Smith

British Dictionary definitions for spearmint

spearmint

noun
  1. a purple-flowered mint plant, Mentha spicata, of S and central Europe, cultivated for its leaves, which yield an oil used for flavouring

Word Origin

C16: so called because of its long narrow leaves
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for spearmint

n.

1530s, from spear (n.1) + mint (n.1).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper