hyssop
/ˈhɪ.səp/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.97 in modern English
14
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of several aromatic bushy herbs, of the genus Hyssopus, native to Southern Europe and once used medicinally.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A plant used for the sprinkling of blood or water in purification rituals and at Passover, Origanum syriacum.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The life of one plant would be affected by another. Rue was definitely hostile to basil, rosemary to hyssop, but coriander, dill and chervil lived on the friendliest of terms[.]"
- "All of them went in, including the housekeeper, and they found more than a hundrred large volumes, very nicely bound, and many smaller ones; and as soon as the housekeeper saw them, she hurried out of the room and quickly returned with a basin of holy water and a hyssop and said to the priest: "Take this, Señor Licentiate, and sprinkle this room, so that no enchanter, of the many in these books, can put a spell on us as punishment for wanting to drive them off the face of the earth.""
Etymology
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: hȳsōpum, ὕσσωπος, -
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- American usage
- Obsolete
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
anise hyssop
bastard hyssop
giant hyssop
hedge hyssop
nettle-leaf giant hyssop
water hyssop
wild hyssop
yellow-flowered water hyssop