Ginseng
WordNet
noun
(1) Chinese herb with palmately compound leaves and small greenish flowers and forked aromatic roots believed to have medicinal powers
(2) Aromatic root of ginseng plants
WiktionaryText
Etymology
From .
Noun
- Any of several plants, of the genus Panax, having forked roots supposed to have medicinal properties.
- The root of such a plant, or an extract of these roots.
- 1855, Sir Richard Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah, Dover 1964, p. 56-7:
- When the Afghan princes find it necessary to employ Chob-Chini, (the Jin-seng, or China root so celebrated as a purifier, tonic, and aphrodisiac) they choose the spring season
- 1855, Sir Richard Burton, Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Meccah, Dover 1964, p. 56-7: