pennyroyal oil
- noun
- /ˈpɛniˌrɔɪəl ɔɪl/
:
aceite de poleo
- The manufacturer uses pennyroyal oil to add a minty scent to their natural cleaning products.
Examples
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The soap was fragranced with pennyroyal oil, giving it a refreshing herbal aroma.
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I added a few drops of pennyroyal oil to my bath.
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In traditional medicine, pennyroyal oil was sometimes used, although it is now considered toxic in large amounts.
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Have you ever used pennyroyal oil for headaches?
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Many people use pennyroyal oil in homemade soaps for its pleasant aroma.
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As a natural insect repellent, pennyroyal oil is often added to outdoor sprays.
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In traditional herbal medicine, pennyroyal oil is sometimes used to relieve digestive issues.
Synonyms
A strong-smelling oil from the American pennyroyal plant used for flavor and herbal medicine
How Aromatic
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound follows the productive noun+noun pattern 'X oil' meaning 'oil extracted from X', so a learner who knows 'pennyroyal' (a scented/insect‑repellent plant) and 'oil' will readily infer it is the oil from that plant. This compositional, cross‑linguistically common pattern makes the expression predictable rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
Pennyroyal oil: The name pennyroyal oil comes from a small mint plant — people long ago crushed the leaves of pennyroyal to make a strong-smelling oil. So the phrase simply means 'an oil made from the pennyroyal plant', a scent and home remedy once used in soaps and to repel insects, though it can be poisonous in large amounts.