pennyroyal

[pen-ee-roi-uh l]

noun

an aromatic Old World plant, Mentha pulegium, of the mint family, having clusters of small purple flowers and yielding a pungent essential oil used medicinally and as an insect repellent.

Also called mock pennyroyal. a similar, related plant, Hedeoma pulegioides, of eastern North America, having bluish flowers growing from the leaf axils.

any of several other aromatic plants of the mint family.

Nearby words

Origin of pennyroyal

1520–30; penny + royal; replacing late Middle English puliol real < Anglo-French; Middle French poliol (< Latin *pūlēgiōlum, diminutive of pūlēgium pennyroyal) + real, earlier form of royal

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

Examples from the Web for pennyroyal

And Kurt was so happy with it that a few months later he asked me to do another video for them for a song called “Pennyroyal Tea.”
How Nirvana Shot the ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ Video|Andrew Romano|September 13, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Many old-fashioned folks in the Pennyroyal Region still think so.
Oldfield|Nancy Huston Banks
An old man, dressed in a suit of very antique butternut clothes, stood at the sill, holding forward a bunch of pennyroyal.
Meadow Grass|Alice Brown
A small amount of oil of pennyroyal sprinkled around the room will drive away the mosquitoes.
Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889|Barkham Burroughs

It was impossible to eat or sleep without some defence, and our pennyroyal salve was invaluable.
The Trail of the Goldseekers|Hamlin Garland
Watercress grows in many springs, and there are rosebushes, and pennyroyal, and wild marjoram.
Original Narratives of Early American History|Vaca and Others

British Dictionary definitions for pennyroyal

pennyroyal

noun

a Eurasian plant, Mentha pulegium, with hairy leaves and small mauve flowers, that yields an aromatic oil used in medicine: family Lamiaceae (labiates)

Also called: mock pennyroyal a similar and related plant, Hedeoma pulegioides, of E North America

Word Origin for pennyroyal

C16: variant of Anglo-Norman puliol real, from Old French pouliol (from Latin pūleium pennyroyal) + real royal

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

Word Origin and History for pennyroyal

pennyroyal

herb, 1520s, alteration by folk etymology of Anglo-French puliol real; for second element see royal; first element ultimately from Latin puleium "thyme," of unknown origin.