Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ginseng

/ˈd͡ʒɪnsɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.76 in modern English

Syllables: gin-seng
IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɪnsɪŋ/

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any plant of two species of the genus Panax (Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius), having forked roots supposed to have medicinal and aphrodisiac properties.

Countable; Uncountable

noun

The root of such a plant, or an extract of these roots.

Countable; Uncountable

Example Sentences

"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."
"Athletes' use of herbal supplements has skyrocketed in the past two decades. At the top of the list of popular herbs are echinacea and ginseng, whereas garlic, St. John's wort, soybean, ephedra and others are also surging in popularity or have been historically prevalent."

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien 人參 /人参 (jîn-sim, “ginseng”). Doublet of ninzin.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈd͡ʒɪnsɪŋ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

ginsengs (plural) genseng (alternative) gingseng (alternative, obsolete) ginsing (alternative, obsolete) jinseng (alternative, obsolete) jin-seng (alternative, obsolete)

Derived Forms

ginsenoside notoginseng sang sanging

Phrases

Alaskan ginseng American ginseng Asian ginseng Asiatic ginseng Brazilian ginseng Chinese ginseng dwarf ginseng eastern ginseng

Synonyms

nin-sin panax ginseng panax schinseng panax pseudoginseng

Questions

How do you pronounce ginseng?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈd͡ʒɪnsɪŋ/.
What does ginseng mean?: Any plant of two species of the genus Panax (Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius), having forked roots supposed to have medicinal and aphrodisiac properties.
Where does ginseng come from?: Borrowed from Hokkien 人參 /人参 (jîn-sim, “ginseng”). Doublet of ninzin.

How to pronounce ginseng

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Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈd͡ʒɪnsɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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