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pennyroyal

[pen-ee-roi-uh l]
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noun
  1. 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.
  2. Also called mock pennyroyal. a similar, related plant, Hedeoma pulegioides, of eastern North America, having bluish flowers growing from the leaf axils.
  3. any of several other aromatic plants of the mint family.
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for pennyroyal

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Some of the provident produced bottles of oil of pennyroyal.

    The Rock of Chickamauga

    Joseph A. Altsheler

  • I told her to bring me some pennyroyal along from the field next the quarry.

    Patchwork

    Anna Balmer Myers

  • Aunt Maria told me you were here—she is impatient for her pennyroyal.

    Patchwork

    Anna Balmer Myers

  • It was a sunny little room, with a pleasant smell of pennyroyal about it.

    Hildegarde's Holiday

    Laura E. Richards

  • If more convenient, sprinkle the bedding with oil or essence of pennyroyal.

British Dictionary definitions for pennyroyal

pennyroyal

noun
  1. a Eurasian plant, Mentha pulegium, with hairy leaves and small mauve flowers, that yields an aromatic oil used in medicine: family Lamiaceae (labiates)
  2. Also called: mock pennyroyal a similar and related plant, Hedeoma pulegioides, of E North America
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Word Origin

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

n.

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper