horehound

horehound
/hawr"hownd', hohr"-/, n.
1. an Old World plant, Marrubium vulgare, of the mint family, having downy leaves and small, whitish flowers, and containing a bitter, medicinal juice that is used as an expectorant, vermifuge, and laxative.
2. any of various plants of the mint family.
3. a brittle candy or lozenge flavored with horehound extract.
Also, hoarhound.
[bef. 1000; ME horehune, OE harhune, equiv. to har gray, HOAR + hune horehound]

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▪ herb
also spelled  hoarhound,  also called  white horehound 

      (Marrubium vulgare), bitter perennial herb of the mint family (Lamiaceae) whose leaves and flowering tops are used as flavouring for beverages and candies and as a traditional medicine. Infusions or extracts of horehound in the form of syrups, beverages, or lozenges are popular in the United States as remedies for coughs and minor pulmonary disturbances. Native to Europe, North Africa, and Central Asia, horehound is naturalized in North America. It is cultivated in Great Britain and is occasionally found as an escape, growing wild on drier soils.

      The plant is coarse, strongly aromatic, and less than 1 metre (3 feet) tall. Its blunt-toothed, broad, oval leaves are woolly white below and pale green and downy above. The flowers are small, whitish, and densely clustered in axillary whorls.

      Black horehound (Ballota nigra) is a hairy perennial herb with a fetid odour, belonging to the same family. It has purplish flowers and lacks the woolly white appearance of white horehound. It is sometimes used to adulterate extracts of white horehound. It is native to the same regions as white horehound and is naturalized in North America.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • horehound — [ hɔ:haʊnd] (also hoarhound) noun a strong smelling hairy plant of the mint family, traditionally used as a medicinal herb. [Marrubium vulgare (white horehound) and Ballota nigra (black horehound).] Origin OE hāre hūne, from hār (see hoar) +… …   English new terms dictionary

  • horehound — noun Etymology: Middle English horhoune, from Old English hārhūne, from hār hoary + hūne horehound more at hoar Date: before 12th century 1. a. an Old World bitter perennial mint (Marrubium vulgare) with downy leaves b. an extract or confection… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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