Spearmints

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A type of plant belonging to the mint family, characterized by its spear-shaped leaves and often used for flavoring or herbal remedies
2. It can also refer to the fresh, aromatic leaves from this plant, commonly utilized in teas or culinary dishes
3. Additionally, the term may refer to varieties of mint cultivated specifically for culinary applications, particularly in flavoring foods and beverages

Etymology: "Spearmints" is simply the plural of "spearmint," the familiar garden mint whose name combines two older English words. The first part, "spear," in an earlier sense meant a sprout or shoot of a plant, a spire rising from the ground, and the spearmint plant is named for its tall, spiky flower spikes. The second part is "mint," the ancient plant name that reaches English from Latin "menta," itself borrowed from Greek. So the plural refers to several kinds of this plant, or several batches of the leaves, and the word carries the same image of upright, tapering growth that "spear" once described in plant talk.

Synonyms: mint, herb, peppermint