chamomile

American  

[kam-uh-mahyl, -meel] / ˈkæm əˌmaɪl, -ˌmil /

Or camomile

noun

• chamomiles
  plural

1. a composite plant, Chamaemelium nobile (orAnthemis nobilis ), native to the Old World, having strongly scented foliage and white ray flowers with yellow centers used medicinally and as a tea.

2. any of several allied plants of the genera Matricaria and Tripleurospermum.

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chamomile British  

/ ˈkæməˌmaɪl /

noun

1. a variant spelling of camomile

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chamomiles
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of chamomile

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English camamyll, camomille, from Middle French, Old French camomille or Medieval Latin camomilla, for Latin chamaemēlon, from Greek chamaímēlon, equivalent to chamaí “on the ground” + mêlon “apple”; allegedly so called from the applelike odor of the flowers

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Explanation

Chamomile is a plant with pretty little white flowers and a sweet smell. Dried chamomile is often used to make herbal tea. You might grow chamomile in your garden for its blossoms, which look like tiny daisies, or for its smell, which is a little bit like apples. Chamomile tea is well-known for helping you sleep well at night, and most people like the way it tastes, too. You can also spell it camomile, and its root goes back to the Greek word khamaimēlon, "earth apple," from khamai, "on the ground," and mēlon, "apple."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chamomile chamomiles

Bottle bio: Another Rías Baixas Albariño, this comes from Galicia, Spain, and has flavors of white peach, citrus peel, chamomile, wet stone and sea spray.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

The long-term sleep benefits of magnesium and melatonin have been scientifically proven, yet for ingredients like chamomile, any documented positive sleep impacts appear to be short-term, with placebo effects commonly occurring.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026

For a bargain option, check out Trader Joe's Well Rested Herbal Tea, which touts chamomile, spearmint, peppermint, blackberry leaves, and rosebuds.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2025

I’m probably home, watching some more “British Bake Off,” “The Office” or something cozy, making myself some chamomile tea and reading.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025

“Fine. Three oatmeals and three chamomile teas, coming right up.”

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

He carries a bunch of chamomiles – the national flower of Russia, he explains – to place in tribute.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 15, 2017

The numerous families of the pellitories, the chamomiles, the mesembryanthemums, pushed their varied and abundant tufts through the loop-holes in the walls, cracked and fissured in spite of their thickness.

From The Village Rector by Katharine Prescott Wormeley

It is cultivated for medicinal purposes in Surrey, at several places in Saxony, and in France and Belgium,—that grown in England being much more valuable than any of the foreign chamomiles brought into the market.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various

Round about it were roses and narcissus and amaranths and gilly-flowers and chamomiles and white lilies and violets, and other flowers of all kinds and colours.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 05 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

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