horehound
noun
Forms horehounds hairhound hoarhound
- noun Any plant of the genus Marrubium.
- noun especially, a herb of species (Marrubium vulgare, of the mint family, traditionally used as a cough remedy and to make a type of hard candy.
- noun Any plant of the genus Ballota.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English horehoune, from Old English hārhūne, hārehūne.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A plant of the genus Marrubium (M. vulgare), which has a bitter taste, and is a weak tonic, used as a household remedy for colds, coughing, etc. [Written also hoarhound.] Fetid horehound, or Black horehound, a disagreeable plant resembling horehound (Ballota nigra).
Etymology [OE. horehune, AS. harhune; har hoar, gray + hune horehound; cf. L. cunila a species of organum, GR. kn to smell.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “horehound”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details