lovage

English

Etymology

From Middle English loveache, a folk-etymological alteration, after love and ache (“parsley”), of Anglo-Norman luvasche and Old French luvache, loveche et al., and Middle French levesche, from Latin levisticum, probably alteration of Latin ligusticum, substantivization of the neuter of Ligusticus (“Ligurian”), ultimately from Ancient Greek Λιγυστικός (Ligustikós, “Ligurian”), from Λίγυς (Lígus, “Ligurian”). This replaced the Old English name lufestiċe (literally “love-stitch”), which was also derived from levisticum and altered by folk-etymology.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌvɪd͡ʒ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈlʌvəd͡ʒ/

Noun

lovage (countable and uncountable, plural lovages)

1. A perennial Mediterranean herb, Levisticum officinale, with odor and flavor resembling celery.
2. A liquor made from this herb.
3. Various species in the genus Ligusticum (generally with an adjective to differentiate them from Levisticum)

Derived terms

• Scots lovage (Ligusticum scoticum)
• Szechuan lovage (Ligusticum striatum)

Translations

a Mediterranean herb

• Arabic: زَوْفَرَا m (zawfarā), كَاشِم m (kāšim)
• Bulgarian: девеси́л (bg) (devesíl), лющя́н (bg) m (ljuštján)
• Catalan: api bord m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 歐當歸 / 欧当归 (Ōudāngguī)

• Czech: libeček m
• Danish: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: lavas (nl), maggiplant (nl)
• Estonian: harilik leeskputk
• Finnish: liperi (fi), lipstikka (fi)
• French: livèche (fr)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Liebstöckel (de) m or n, Maggikraut (de) n
• Greek: λεβιστικό n (levistikó)
• Hungarian: lestyán (hu)
• Irish: luáiste f
• Italian: levistico (it) m, sedano di montagna m
• Korean: 러비지 (reobiji)
• Latin: ligusticum n
• Middle English: loveache
• Old Czech: ľubček m
• Persian: please add this translation if you can
• Plautdietsch: leppstock n
• Polish: lubczyk (pl) m
• Portuguese: levístico m
• Romanian: leuștean (ro) m
• Russian: люби́сток (ru) m (ljubístok), любисто́к (ru) m (ljubistók)
• Slovak: ligurček m
• Slovene: lúštrek m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: łyštok m, libštok m

• Spanish: levístico m, apio de monte m
• Swedish: libbsticka (sv) c
• Turkish: selam otu
• Ukrainian: люби́сток m (ljubýstok)
• Vietnamese: cần núi
• Welsh: llwfach m, lofaets m, lofatsch m

Further reading

• lovage on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• volage

Middle English

Noun

lovage

1. Alternative form of loveache