ginseng
Americannoun
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ginsengs
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
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
In the search for alternative drug candidates, researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have discovered and fully replicated a compound from a botanical source, female ginseng, that had potent anti-osteoporotic activity in cellular tests.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 21, 2024
By pairing caffeine with other buzzy active ingredients like ginseng, carnitine, creatine and ginkgo biloba, they position these drinks as enhancers of mental alertness and concentration, too.
From Salon ● Jan. 27, 2024
He was going to see his ginseng buyer, with two grocery bags full of the root.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Whether the Asiatic and the Atlantic American ginsengs are to be regarded as of the same species or not is somewhat uncertain, but they are hardly, if at all, distinguishable.
From Darwiniana; Essays and Reviews Pertaining to Darwinism by Asa Gray
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.
