costmary

9.9

A plant with a strong smell whose leaves add flavor to food or tea

noun
/ˈkɔːstˌmɛri/

Specialized

: costmaria

In traditional recipes, costmary leaves are used to flavor stuffing for roast meats.

Examples

I love the scent of costmary leaves in the garden.
She added costmary to her herbal tea.
Finely chopped costmary adds a unique aroma to sauces and stews.
The chef warned that too much costmary could make the soup overly bitter.
Finely chopped costmary adds a unique aroma to sauces and stews.
In traditional recipes, costmary leaves are used to flavor stuffing for roast meats.
She added costmary to her herbal tea for an aromatic touch.

Synonyms

Tanacetum balsamita

vscostmary

Specialized

9.9

A leafy herb with a strong smell used in tea and to flavor food

is the familiar culinary and potpourri herb name not the formal scientific term

alecost

vscostmary

Archaic

9.9

A leafy herb whose leaves people use to flavor food, with round yellow flowers and a strong smell

is the everyday cooking and tea herb label rather than this botanical tag

Chrysanthemum balsamita

vscostmary

Specialized

9.9

A plant with a minty smell and yellow button flowers used in salads and tea

is the common food and potpourri herb label rather than a taxonomic variant

balsam herb

vscostmary

9.3

A plant from Europe and Asia with small round yellow flowers used to flavor food, make tea, or scent potpourri

focuses more specifically on the culinary and potpourri use as a single herb

bible leaf

vscostmary

9.9

A small herb with round yellow flowers and a strong smell that people use to flavor food or tea

is the single herb identity used for flavoring rather than a classification note

mint geranium

vscostmary

9.9

A small herb with a mint smell used to add flavor to food or tea

is the practical cooking and potpourri herb sense rather than taxonomic variation

Surface Forms

costmary singular

costmaries plural

Etymology

Costmary is thought to mean something like 'Mary's herb', joining cost (an old word for a 'strong-smelling root') and Mary, because people long ago used it to scent cloth and to flavor food. So, the name helps you remember that costmary is a fragrant herb used in cooking, tea, or potpourri.