white sage
- noun
- /waɪt seɪdʒ/
- US
:
salvia blanca
- Many tribes use white sage in purification ceremonies to promote healing and spiritual cleansing.
Examples
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The herbalist recommended using white sage for its medicinal properties in treating colds and allergies.
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After gathering white sage from the garden, she dried it to use in traditional rituals.
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Kind of like how white sage is sacred medicine for natives and apparently Palo Santo is toxic for cats.
Synonyms
A plant that lives for several years with soft white leaves often called white sage
A plant that lives for many years with soft white leaves and grows in the US Southwest
Surface Forms
Morphology
The color term is directly compositional: combining 'white' (very light) with 'sage' (a muted grey‑green) yields a pale, whitish sage hue. Color-naming by combining familiar color words is a common, predictable pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
White sage is a plant with pale, silvery leaves that Native American people often burned in ceremonies. The name points to the pale white leaves of the sage, and the smoke was used to 'cleanse' people and places, so the plant became known for spiritual and healing use.
