pennyroyal
English
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]Apparently an alteration (after penny) of Anglo-Norman puliol royal, from Latin pūlegium.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /pɛ̝nɪˈɹɔɪ̯əl/
- (Standard Southern British, MLE) IPA(key): /pɛnɪjˈɹojəl/
Noun
[edit]pennyroyal (plural pennyroyals)
- Mentha pulegium, a plant of the mint family, formerly much used in various medicinal treatments and as a flea repellent.
- 1653, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, Folio Society, published 2007, page 216:
- Dioscorides says that Pennyroyal makes thin, tough phlegm, warms the coldness of any part whereto it is applied, and digests raw or corrupt matter.
- (music, obsolete) A traditional old well-known song, especially a spiritual folksong.
- 1878 December, “He Playing She”, in The Elocutionist's Journal, number 22, page 4:
- Offenbach and the old college airs, song and dance tunes and pennyroyals, formed the staples for the introduction of hits on manners and times.
- 1890 October 6, Arthur A. Putnam, “Recollections of the Church Choirs of North Danvers”, in Historic Collections of the Danvers Society:
- The singing in the schoolhouse was more like that of one of the old-fashioned, large Yankee families gathered round the hearthstone and singing "pennyroyals" Sunday nights.
- 1905, Methodist Review, volume 87:
- The sort of tune […] variously denominated "gospel song", "spiritual song", "pennyroyal",
- 1910 October, The Brown Alumni Monthly, volume 11, page 74:
- However, three or four of the old "pennyroyals" seem to have stood the test of time.
- 1987, Paul Gaarder Kaatrud, Revivalism and the Popular Spiritual Song in Mid-nineteenth Century America: 1830-1870:
- Asking his subscribers to send him "old pennyroyal tunes" and "popular airs," he received many contributions from unknown personages, such as "a Shermantown friend," a "Mr. A. V. Parker," a "Mr. R. H. Williams" of Westmoreland, and a "Brother Robbins."
Alternative forms
[edit]Synonyms
[edit]- (species): European pennyroyal, pennyrile, pudding grass, mosquito plant, squaw mint
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]Mentha pulegium
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