Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A Mediterranean perennial plant (Levisticum officinale) having edible leaves and leafstalks and small, aromatic, seedlike fruit used as seasoning.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The umbelliferous plant Levisticum officinale, a native of the mountains of central Europe, cultivated in old gardens. This is the lovage of the older books. It is sometimes distinguished as Italian or garden lovage.
- n. Another plant of the same family, Ligusticum Scoticum, often called Scotch lovage. The name extends also to other species of the genus.
Wiktionary
- n. A perennial Mediterranean herb, Levisticum officinale, with odor and flavor resembling celery.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) An umbelliferous plant (Levisticum officinale), sometimes used in medicine as an aromatic stimulant.
WordNet 3.0
- n. herb native to southern Europe; cultivated for its edible stalks and foliage and seeds
- n. stalks eaten like celery or candied like angelica; seeds used for flavoring or pickled like capers
Etymologies
- From Anglo-Norman luvache, loveche et al., and Middle French levesche, from Late Latin levisticum, probably alteration of Latin ligusticum, from Ligusticus ("Ligurian"), ultimately from Ancient Greek Λίγυς. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Anglo-Norman luvesche, from Old English lufestice, from Medieval Latin levistica, from Late Latin levisticum, alteration of Latin ligusticum, from neuter of Ligusticus, Ligurian, from Ligurēs, the Ligurians. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“Other herbs and plants there are which retain the names of the countries from whence they were transported, as the Median apples from Media, where they first grew; Punic apples from Punicia, that is to say, Carthage; Ligusticum, which we call lovage, from”
Five books of the lives, heroic deeds and sayings of Gargantua and his son Pantagruel
“Ligusticum, which we call lovage, from Liguria, the coast of Genoa; Rhubarb from a flood in Barbary, as Ammianus attesteth, called Ru; Santonica from a region of that name; Fenugreek from Greece; Gastanes from a country so called; Persicaria from Persia; Sabine from a territory of that appellation; Staechas from the Staechad Islands; Spica Celtica from the land of the Celtic Gauls, and so throughout a great many other, which were tedious to enumerate.”
““She drank this awful stuff—lovage, which is some sort of herbal diuretic, because she had trouble with … you know… water retention.””
“The delegates dined on baked Scottish salmon, Welsh lamb, and something called lovage (see the full menu here), all prepared by Naked Chef Jamie Oliver.”
“And it even applies to the other ingredient in the anti-alcoholism six-pack cocktail; buy "lovage root" and you'll very probably get the usual kind of lovage,”
“To make up for it I show off my knife skills by finely chopping half a shallot to go into a mortar along with big fat blackberries, leaves of lovage and fresh angelica seeds.”
“There's pine gin, lemon verbena, lovage gin, "Grandpa Leo's" bergamot vodka and chipotle vodka.”
The Guardian: Observer Food Monthly Awards 2011 Best Place to Drink: Mark's Bar
“Add 6 ounces roughly-chopped cooked lobster, 1 teaspoon lovage, cut into thin ribbons, and ¼ cup pea tendrils leaves only; if you can't find pea tendrils, thinly sliced young spinach is a fine substitute.”
“I grow herbs that you cannot count on finding at the supermarket: tarragon, lovage, anise hyssop, lemon balm, lemon verbena.”
“Bonus: Poppy has just opened a tiny backyard patio, with a few small tables outdoors by the pretty and practical kitchen garden of flowering sage and borage and young stems of lovage.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘lovage’.
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The weird, the wonderful and the plai...
Loved for their ingenuity, an exact description, or simply for the pure joy of it.
acidulous, aprosdoketon, higgledy-piggledy, lexicographical, ninja, audacious, somnabulist, shivaree, amorphous, quidnunc, glib, melancholy and 353 more...
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Herbs: How Fragrant, How Delicious
Delicious scents in an edible nibble.
zedoary, zahtar, yarrow, wormwood, wasabi, verbena, valerian, thyme, Thai basil, tarragon, sweet basil, sorrel and 59 more...
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spice
zest, clowe-gilofre, bespice, piquance, star anise, epice, eugenia aromaticum, macis, tanginess, pimenta dioica, fenugreek, Geri Halliwell and 34 more...
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Discovered Scrabble Words
Oh, that little smiling teacher tile in my Scrabble app. He teaches me so much.
lovage, khaf, tititi, leet, ketol, fon, ono, dunelike, braw, bocci, lutz, fano and 132 more...
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harry potter words
quidditch, apparate, disapparate, lumos, snitch, pensieve, dementor, azkaban, wingardium, leviosa, horcrux, bludger and 376 more...
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the gardener and apothecary's
bryony, chamomile, frond, sweet bay, laurel, monkshood, henbane, hemlock, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lady's mantle and 140 more...
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As soon as I finish this chapter
x
procrastination, drily, rheumatism, rheum, suint, tiresome, wearisome, tiring, suboptimal, subpar, subprime, grange and 190 more...
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learning
A list of words whose meanings I am learning, either because a) I don't know the meaning b) I know the meaning, but could stand to better appreciate certain inflections or secondary meanings or c) ...
louche, educe, loam, cob, sclerotic, palliate, axial, syndicalist, ecumenical, sally, fatuous, parvenu and 1387 more...
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a modern herbal
mugwort, horehound, hellebore, chamomile, comfrey, rosemary, calendula, rose, lavender, lamb's quarters, gamboge, mustard and 108 more...
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favorite words
sawbones, grackle, celadon, brio, loam, trull, mint, saliva, serape, frisson, impasto, reek and 557 more...
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msc's Words
pugilist, threepeat, bloviate, palaver, syncreism, pastiche, eschatology, peripatetic, glossolalia, busker, nudnik, troglodyte and 213 more...
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Words of the Day
glabella, chirotony, nook-shotten, crapehanger, filemot, swirlie, egosurf, lexiphanicism, Ruritanian, stichometry, chrononaut, faldstool and 2244 more...
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The Garden on Ryons Street
I spent a few seasons doing gardening work for a former English professor. This is just a list of some of the friends I made in her garden. (Some of these plants spent the winter inside, of course.)
filipendula, Tradescantia, eglantine, Ispahan, Comtesse de Murinais, Crested Moss, rugosa rose, goutweed, creeping charlie, buttercup, lilac, cedar and 97 more...
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rudabeckia's Words
cross, wholly, lobe, sauce, quarrel, horrid, wooly, chutney, cheery, starling, vex, woolen and 67 more...
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vegetation
names of plants, flowers, trees, etc.
laburnum, mignonette, ilex, vetch, sedge, gentian, plane, linden, jade plant, ginkgo, dragon tree, agave and 50 more...
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what's this we're eating?
Foods I've learned to cook with (and love) thanks to Community Supported Agriculture, permaculture, gardening, and friends.
ramps, sunchokes, black radish, sorrel, hon tsai tai, potato onions, burdock, garlic scapes, komatsuma, pluots, amaranth, daikon and 12 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for lovage.

she Also the name of a group whose sole offering was the very entertaining Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By. Aug 6, 2008