Lovage
//ˈlʌvɪd͡ʒ// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A perennial Mediterranean herb, of species Levisticum officinale, with odor and flavor resembling celery. countable, uncountable
- 2 stalks eaten like celery or candied like angelica; seeds used for flavoring or pickled like capers wordnet
- 3 A liquor made from this herb. countable, uncountable
- 4 herb native to southern Europe; cultivated for its edible stalks and foliage and seeds wordnet
- 5 Various species in the genus Ligusticum (generally with an adjective to differentiate them from Levisticum) countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsEtymology
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.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.