chamomile

or cam·o·mile

[kam-uh-mahyl, -meel]

noun

a composite plant, Chamaemelium nobile (or Anthemis nobilis), native to the Old World, having strongly scented foliage and white ray flowers with yellow centers used medicinally and as a tea.
any of several allied plants of the genera Matricaria and Tripleurospermum.

Origin of chamomile

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for chamomile

Contemporary Examples of chamomile

Most recently I tried acupuncture, Chinese herbs, raw apple cider vinegar, and chamomile tea.
A New Hysterectomy Procedure Eliminates Massive Scarring and Long Recovery Time. So Why Aren’t More Doctors On Board?
Heather Wilson
March 30, 2014
Strong fennel and wormwood hit the back of my tongue along with a dryness from the barrel and hints of citrus from the chamomile.
The Absinthe-Minded Porteños of Buenos Aires
Jeff Campagna
March 10, 2014

Historical Examples of chamomile

Take and boil a quantity of chamomile, and apply the hot fomentations.
Searchlights on Health: Light on Dark Corners
B.G. Jefferis
The smell of the Chamomile is aromatic, and its qualities highly tonic.
Botany for Ladies
Jane Loudon
Oil of chamomile is reputed antispasmodic, tonic, and stomachic.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley
This extract contains only the bitter portion of the chamomile, the aromatic volatile oil being dissipated during the evaporation.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
The mass of extract of chamomile met with in the shops is nothing but extract of gentian scented with a little oil of chamomile.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley

British Dictionary definitions for chamomile

chamomile

noun

a variant spelling of camomile

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 chamomile

obsolete form of camomile.