ginseng
Americannoun
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any of several plants of the genus Panax, especially P. pseudoginseng, of eastern Asia, or P. qinquefolius, of North America, having an aromatic root used medicinally.
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the root itself.
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a preparation made from it.
noun
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either of two araliaceous plants, Panax schinseng of China or P. quinquefolius of North America, whose forked aromatic roots are used medicinally
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the root of either of these plants or a substance obtained from the roots, believed to possess stimulant, tonic, and energy-giving properties
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ginseng
1645–55; < Chinese (Wade-Giles) jên2 shên1, (Pinyin) rén-shēn, equivalent to rén man + shēn name for a kind of herb
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
With her personal information leaked, Lee said she has received several unwelcome calls a day from firms trying to sell her insurance, credit cards and red ginseng.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025
Bobo’s remains were eventually found in some woods by ginseng hunters in September 2014.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 27, 2024
The researchers performed chemical extraction on the medicinal plant and identified two new compounds, calling them falcarinphthalide A and B, that were structurally unlike anything previously discovered in female ginseng.
From Science Daily • Feb. 21, 2024
Smith's father had lost savings in an ill-fated ginseng deal, plunging the family into two decades of poverty.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2023
He was the guy who wrote the properties of things, like how aloe soothes skin, and ginseng gives you focus.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
