cohosh

[ koh-hosh, koh-hosh ]

noun
  1. either of two unrelated plants of the eastern U.S., Cimicifuga racemosa(black cohosh, or squawroot ), of the buttercup family, or Caulophyllum thalictroides(blue cohosh, or papoose-root ), of the barberry family, both used medicinally.

Origin of cohosh

1
First recorded in 1790–1800, Americanism; from Eastern Abenaki kkwὰhas

Words Nearby cohosh

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cohosh in a sentence

  • She learned the uses and prices of the plant, and also made drawings of cohosh, moonseed and bloodroot.

    The Harvester | Gene Stratton Porter
  • View those polished cohosh-berries, white as drops of pearl!

  • I am also equally curious to know if anything eats the fruit of the red and white baneberry and the blue cohosh.

    Ways of Nature | John Burroughs
  • Another flower of the summer woods and hillsides is the cohosh, with a stem from three to eight feet high.

    Woodcraft | Alan Douglas
  • You should be able to design a number of pretty things from the cohosh leaves and berries, too.

    The Harvester | Gene Stratton Porter

British Dictionary definitions for cohosh

cohosh

/ (ˈkəʊhɒʃ, kəʊˈhɒʃ) /


noun
  1. any of several North American plants, such as the blue cohosh (Caulophyllum thalictroides: family Leonticaceae) and black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa: family Ranunculaceae)

Origin of cohosh

1
C18: probably of Algonquian origin

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