lovage

[luhv-ij]

noun

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

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for lovage

Lovage cleers the sight, takes away redness and Freckles from the Face.
Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony|George Francis Dow
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
The Highlanders have the same opinion of the virtues of Lovage.
A Garden with House Attached|Sarah Warner Brooks
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