Savine

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A low-growing evergreen juniper shrub with scale-like leaves, whose foliage has a strong, unpleasant smell
2. An evergreen juniper shrub that spreads close to the ground and is known for its toxic, aromatic leaves
3. A prostrate juniper bush with dense green foliage, historically used in herbal medicine and as a folk abortifacient

Etymology: The shrub's name carries an old link to an ancient people. Latin "sabina" meant the savin juniper and was tied to the Sabines, the people of central Italy, whose name lies behind it. Some of the Sabines' plant lore, or the plant's association with their land, seems to have given it that label, though the exact reason is not recorded. The word reached English through Old French "savine", and Middle English then wrote it "savyne" before the spelling settled. English speakers had an earlier word too: Old English "safine" shows the same plant was known in Anglo-Saxon times, and both forms descend from the Latin original. "Savine" is simply a spelling variant of "savin", the form most dictionaries prefer.

Synonyms: savin, juniper