lovage

[luhv-ij]

noun

a European plant, Levisticum officinale, of the parsley family, having coarsely toothed compound leaves, cultivated in gardens.

Origin of lovage

1350–1400; Middle English loveache < Anglo-French luvesche (by association with ache celery < Latin apium) < Old English lufestice (by syncope) < Medieval Latin levistica, for Late Latin levisticum, alteration of Latin ligusticum lovage, noun use of neuter of Ligusticus Ligurian

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

Examples from the Web for lovage

Historical Examples of lovage

The Highlanders have the same opinion of the virtues of Lovage.
A Garden with House Attached
Sarah Warner Brooks
They brought a dishevelled and sleepy doctor, with a strong smell of lovage vodka.
The Diary of a Superfluous Man and Other Stories
Ivn Turgnieff
Lovage cleers the sight, takes away redness and Freckles from the Face.
Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
George Francis Dow
The same effect may be produced by poultice mixed with levisticum (lovage) or leaves of parsley.
Gilbertus Anglicus
Henry Ebenezer Handerson
Take the juice of smallage or lovage, and mix with any kind of bait.
Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889
Barkham Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for lovage

lovage

noun

a European umbelliferous plant, Levisticum officinale, with greenish-white flowers and aromatic fruits, which are used for flavouring food
Scotch lovage a similar and related plant, Ligusticum scoticum, of N Europe

Word Origin for lovage

C14 loveache, from Old French luvesche, from Late Latin levisticum, from Latin ligusticum, literally: Ligurian (plant)

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