pyrethrum
/paɪˈɹiθɹəm/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.50 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
1
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Any of several daisy-like perennial African plants of the genus Tanacetum, especially Tanacetum cinerariifolium.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "A common beverage credited with aphrodisiac virtue was old wine containing the pungent root of the plant pyrethrum or pellitory."
- "We children would re-tell the stories the following day to other children who worked in the fields picking the pyrethrum flowers, tea-leaves or coffee beans of our European and African landlords."
Etymology
From Old English pyretre, from (and later reformed after) Latin pyrethrum (in Pliny), from Hellenistic Ancient Greek πύρεθρον (púrethron).
Origin
- Source language: Old English
Word Breakdown
- Root: pyretre, pyrethrum, πύρεθρον
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /paɪˈɹiθɹəm/