Yasmin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A feminine first name of Arabic and Persian origin, a variant of Jasmine ; a brand name for a combined oral contraceptive pill containing drospirenone and ethinylestradiol
2. A female personal name derived from the Persian word for jasmine ; a trademarked birth control tablet that combines drospirenone with an estrogen
3. A woman's given name of Persian origin meaning jasmine ; a proprietary hormonal contraceptive pill made from drospirenone and ethinyl estradiol

Etymology: "Yasmin" is a variant spelling of "jasmine", the fragrant flowering plant, and it is best understood as a name rather than a plain noun. The flower's name travelled from Persian into Arabic and then into European languages, and the form "yasmin" preserves the spelling closer to how the Arabic and Persian originals are written and pronounced. In those languages, "yasmin" is used as a personal name, given to girls and bearing the image of the blossom. The name's use in English is therefore a transliteration: a way of rendering the Arabic and Persian name in Roman letters rather than an English word that changed shape over time. Readers who know "jasmine" as the plant's English name will recognise the same root, while "yasmin" keeps the first vowel and the initial "y" sound of the source languages.