herb a word which has its origin in the Latin herba meaning a grass or other green plant. Botanists use the term to refer to a plant with a stem which is not woody (as that of a tree or shrub is); but the general use of the word is now in its culinary sense, indicating a plant whose green parts (usually leaves, sometimes stalks) are used to flavour food. However, it is still also used to indicate a plant of medicinal importance.
Until the 19th century the word was pronounced with a silent βhβ on both sides of the Atlantic; but this usage now survives only on the American side.
