Salvias

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A genus of flowering plants known for their aromatic properties and often used in gardens for ornamental purposes
2. Plants belonging to the mint family, valued for their vibrant flowers and culinary or medicinal uses
3. A group of herbs characterized by their square stems and whorled leaves, commonly associated with a variety of colors in blossoms

Etymology: "Salvias" is simply the plural of "salvia," the name for the large genus of flowering plants in the mint family. The plural is what you would use when speaking of several such plants, whether in a garden bed or a spice rack. The singular "salvia" was borrowed from New Latin, where it became the scientific name of the genus, and that scientific name traces back to the classical Latin "salvia," meaning "sage." The two words are doublets: "salvia" and the English "sage" are two forms of one Latin ancestor, one arriving as a learned botanical term and the other entering the language through everyday use.

Synonyms: sage, salvia