henna
/hɛnə/
henna noun: a shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers.
Noun
henna (countable and uncountable, plural hennas)
- A shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers.
- A flower of this plant.
- The aroma given off by flowers has an aphrodisiac effect, especially on women. This is so particularly in the case of lilies of the valley, gardenia, frangipani, and henna.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 98
- A reddish plant substance, prepared from the dried leaves of this plant, used for temporary tattoos and hair coloring. Hair colorings range from bright red to earth brown to near black.
- Among Arabs, it is believed that henna rubbed on the fingers, skull, and feet produces an aphrodisiac effect.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 114
- A rich reddish-brown colour.
Adjective
henna (not comparable)
- Of a rich reddish-brown colour.
Verb
henna (third-person singular simple present hennas, present participle hennaing, simple past and past participle hennaed)
- To dye or tattoo with henna.
henna meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
henna in Hindi
- dye
- मेंहदी mẽhdī, मेहंदी mehandī, हिना hinā, हीना hīnā
henna in Tamil
- shrub
- மருதாணி marutāṇi
- dye
- மருதாணி marutāṇi
henna in Marathi
- henna
- मेंदी mendī
henna in Urdu
- shrub
- مَہَنْدی mahandī
- dye
- مینہدی meṅhdī, حنا hinā
More languagesFewer languages
- henna in Bengali
- মেহেদী mehedi
- henna in Telugu
- గోరింట gōriṇṭa
- henna in Malayalam
- മൈലാഞ്ചിച്ചെടി, മൈലാഞ്ചി
- henna in Kannada
- ಗೋರಂಟಿ gōraṇṭi
- henna in Punjabi
- ਮਹਿੰਦੀ mahindī, ਹਿਨਾ hinā
- henna in Gujarati
- મહેંદી mahěndī
- henna in Odia
- ମେହେନ୍ଦି mehendi
- henna in Sanskrit
- मेन्धिका mendhikā
- henna in Assamese
- জেতুকা zetuka, জেতুকা গছ zetuka gos
- henna in Arabic
- حِنَّاء ḥinnāʔ
- henna in Malay
- inai
- henna in Indonesian
- gelam
- henna in Persian
- حنا hanâ
Forms of henna
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | hennas |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | hennas |
| present participle | hennaing |
| past participle | hennaed |
| past | hennaed |
Origin of henna
Borrowed from Arabic حِنَّاء (ḥinnāʔ), the name of the tree used to make the dye, probably from Middle Persian [script needed] (*hannāy-, “to smear, anoint”).
Words formed from henna
Phrases with henna
Words that rhyme with henna
Questions about henna
- What does henna mean?
- Henna means a shrub, Lawsonia inermis, having fragrant reddish flowers.
- What is henna in Hindi?
- Henna in Hindi is मेंहदी (mẽhdī), मेहंदी (mehandī), हिना (hinā). See Henna meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is henna?
- Henna can be a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce henna?
- Henna is pronounced /hɛnə/.
- What is the plural of henna?
- The plural of henna is hennas.
Words near henna in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: henna (page history and authors); मेंदी (Marathi) (page history and authors); గోరింట (Telugu) (page history and authors); henna (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); મહેંદી (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ମେହେନ୍ଦି (Odia) (page history and authors); मेन्धिका (Sanskrit) (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:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-henna.wav.
Cite this entry: “henna.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/henna. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.