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DictionaryRoot: herba
Latin

herba

grass, herb, or green plant

Forms

  • herba
  • herb- — Used before other endings.

Origin

An old Latin plant-word whose deeper origin is uncertain.

Note

Its range was broader than the modern culinary meaning of herb.

4 / 5
A rabbit visibly eating fresh clover, with a leafy stem held between its incisors and the rest of the plant rooted in a small patch of ground.
noun

herbivore

UR-bih-vor/ˈɜːrbɪvɔːr/

An animal that feeds mainly on plants.

Etymology
herbiLatingrass, herb, or green plant
+voreLatindevour or swallow

Herba and vorare combine into the image of a “plant-devourer.” The noun names an animal by its diet, with plants understood broadly rather than just culinary herbs.

Full entry

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