horehound

or hoar·hound

[ hawr-hound, hohr- ]

/ ˈhɔrˌhaʊnd, ˈhoʊr- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR horehound ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an Old World plant, Marrubium vulgare, of the mint family, having downy leaves and small, whitish flowers, and containing a bitter, medicinal juice that is used as an expectorant, vermifuge, and laxative.

any of various plants of the mint family.

a brittle candy or lozenge flavored with horehound extract.

RELATED WORDS

lozenge, pastil, pastille, troche

Nearby words

horde, hordein, hordeolum, hordern, horeb, horehound, horgan, horgan, paul, hori, horiatiki, horite

Origin of horehound

before 1000; Middle English horehune, Old English hārhūne, equivalent to hār gray, hoar + hūne horehound

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for horehound

Horehound, anise and others were used in medicines; while little caraway seeds made delicious the cakes and cookies.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.|Ellen Eddy Shaw
The sede is blak and groweth about the stalk, certayn places goyng betwene, as we se in horehound.
Herbals, Their Origin and Evolution|Agnes Arber
It was well that Miss Prime did not discover it: she would have given him horehound to cure—thought!
The Uncalled|Paul Laurence Dunbar
For colds: Horehound tea, pinetop tea, lightwood drippings on sugar.
Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States|Work Projects Administration

To protect one's self against the allurements of these accursed fairies, a bit of horehound or marjoram is sufficient.
Myths of the Rhine|X. B. Saintine

British Dictionary definitions for horehound

horehound

hoarhound

/ (ˈhɔːˌhaʊnd) /

noun

Also called: white horehound a downy perennial herbaceous Old World plant, Marrubium vulgare, with small white flowers that contain a bitter juice formerly used as a cough medicine and flavouring: family Lamiaceae (labiates)See also black horehound

water horehound another name for bugleweed (def. 1)

Word Origin for horehound

Old English hārhūne, from hār grey + hūne horehound, of obscure 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

Medicine definitions for horehound

horehound

[ hôr′hound′ ]

n.

An aromatic Eurasian plant whose leaves yield a bitter extract that is used as a cough remedy.

A candy or preparation flavored with this extract.