costmary
costmary noun: an aromatic plant (Tanacetum balsamita), once used to flavour ale (prior to use of hops); also used as a bookmark in Bibles and other holy texts to dissuade silverfish and other pests.
Noun
costmary (usually uncountable, plural costmaries)
- An aromatic plant (Tanacetum balsamita), once used to flavour ale (prior to use of hops); also used as a bookmark in Bibles and other holy texts to dissuade silverfish and other pests.
- The Marigolde, and cherefull Rosemarie; / The Spartan Mirtle, whence sweet gumb does flowe; / The purple Hyacinths, and fresh Costmarie, / And Saffron, sought for in Cilician soyle1591, “Virgils Gnat”, in Edmund Spenser, transl., Complaints, translation of Culex by Virgil
- Synonyms:
- alecost, mint geranium
costmary meaning in Persian
costmary in Persian
- Translations
- شاهسپرغم
Synonyms of costmary
Forms of costmary
| plural | costmaries |
|---|
Origin of costmary
From Latin costum, from Ancient Greek κόστος (kóstos, “an Oriental aromatic plant”), and Maria (“the Virgin Mary”); only indirectly related to English rosemary.
Questions about costmary
- What does costmary mean?
- Costmary means an aromatic plant (Tanacetum balsamita), once used to flavour ale (prior to use of hops); also used as a bookmark in Bibles and other holy texts to dissuade silverfish and other pests.
- What is costmary in Persian?
- Costmary in Persian is شاهسپرغم. See Costmary meaning in Persian.
- What part of speech is costmary?
- Costmary is a noun.
- What is the plural of costmary?
- The plural of costmary is costmaries.
Words near costmary in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: costmary (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “costmary.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/costmary. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.