valerian
/vəˈlɪ(ə)ɹ.i.ən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.58 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
4
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A hardy perennial flowering plant, Valeriana officinalis, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
An extract of the dried roots of the Valeriana officinalis used in herbal medicine as a sedative.
Countable; Uncountable
name
a Roman cognomen, notably borne by Publius Licinius Valerianus, a Roman emperor
name
A male given name from Latin, of rare usage.
name
A transliteration of the Russian male given name Валериа́н (Valerián).
Example Sentences
- "In the event of anyone wishing to invoke the very Prince of Spirits, the following ingredients were prescribed to be burnt - Juice of Hypericon, Saffron, Artemisia, and the root of Valerian."
- "Tobacco and the plant valerian are also considered to be anaphrodisiac in their effects, diminishing sexual inclination."
- "10243—Valerian Joseph Eikmeier, D."
- "Miss Coletta Hunke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Hunke, was married to Valerian Eikmeier, son of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Eikmeier at St. Boniface church, May 1, 1946."
- "The outstanding Omega man Plaque went to Valerian Edward Smith of Howard University, […]"
- "Mr. and Mrs. Valerian “Jerry” Knotek of 2115 Shoop St. will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary Aug. 3 with a cake and punch celebration at their granddaughter’s residence."
Etymology
From Old French valeriane or Medieval Latin valeriāna, a reinterpretation of what is found as German Baldrian after valēre (“to be powerful”) or also the gentilic name Valerius, which is seemingly borrowed in the Dark Age period from the late 6ᵗʰ to early 8ᵗʰ century from Turkic or Proto-Mongolic, when the Pannonian Avars were direct neighbours to the Germans, notably also present in Hungarian bojtorján (“burdock”), ultimately from Proto-Mongolic, reflected as Middle Mongol ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷᠭᠠᠨᠠ (balčirɣan-a, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷ (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”) + plant name suffix ᠭᠠᠨᠠ (-ɣana), Mongolian балчиргана (balčirgana, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as балчир (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”) + plant name suffix -гана (-gana). See Ottoman Turkish بالدران (baldıran, “hemlock”) for Turkic cognates.
Origin
- Source language: Old French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /vəˈlɪ(ə)ɹ.i.ən/
- British English: /vəˈlɪə.ɹi.ən/