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.

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 of 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

Historical Examples of pennyroyal

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.
Miss Leslie's Lady's New Receipt-Book
Eliza Leslie

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

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.