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salvia

[sal-vee-uh]
noun
  1. any plant of the genus Salvia, comprising the sages, having opposite leaves and whorled flowers.
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Origin of salvia

1835–45; < New Latin, Latin: sage
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for salvia

Historical Examples

  • And what if the salvia, as by a miracle, blossoms on the jasmine?

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • Again in the Verbena and Salvia, we have scarlet and blue, but no yellow.

    Your Plants

    James Sheehan

  • They are very important honey-plants, commonly called Sage, and by some botanists considered to be a species of Salvia.

  • Miquel has recorded the union of a stigma with the middle lobe of the lower lip of the corolla of Salvia pratensis.

    Vegetable Teratology

    Maxwell T. Masters

  • Oleum salvi, L. From the herbaceous portion of Salvia officinalis, or common sage.

British Dictionary definitions for salvia

salvia

noun
  1. any herbaceous plant or small shrub of the genus Salvia, such as the sage, grown for their medicinal or culinary properties or for ornament: family Lamiaceae (labiates)
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Word Origin

C19: from Latin: sage ²
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 salvia

n.

1844, from Latin salvia "the plant sage" (see sage (n.1)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper