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Glite Dictionary
hyssop oil

hyssop oil

9.2
A strong smelling oil from the hyssop plant used to flavor drinks and perfume
  • noun
translation icon : aceite de hisopo
  • Many artisan liqueurs are flavored with hyssop oil for its distinctive aroma.

Examples

  • The recipe calls for a drop of hyssop oil to enhance the herbal notes.

  • Perfume makers sometimes use hyssop oil as a natural ingredient in their blends.

  • I love the scent of hyssop oil.

  • She added a few drops of hyssop oil to her perfume.

  • Many artisan liqueurs are flavored with hyssop oil for its distinctive aroma.

  • Perfume makers sometimes use hyssop oil as a natural ingredient in their blends.

  • The recipe calls for a drop of hyssop oil to enhance the herbal notes.

Surface Forms

hyssop oil singular
hyssop oils plural

Morphology

hyssop + oil

The meaning 'an essential oil obtained from the hyssop plant' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'hyssop' (a specific aromatic plant) with 'oil' (a plant-derived liquid). This noun-noun compound follows a common and cross-linguistically frequent pattern (plant + oil), so a learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Hyssop oil comes from the aromatic plant hyssop and the oil taken from its leaves and flowers. People have used this strong-smelling oil to flavor 'liqueurs' and to make 'perfume', so the name means the essential oil made from that plant.