Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various American plants of the genus Stevia of the composite family, especially the perennial S. rebaudiana, native to Paraguay, whose leaves contain sweet-tasting glycosides.
  • noun Any of various extracts derived from the leaves of S. rebaudiana, used as noncaloric sweeteners and flavoring agents.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A genus of composite plants, of the tribe Eupatoriaceæ and subtribe Agerateæ.
  • noun [lowercase] A plant of this genus.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A sweet herb, of genus Stevia, native to Paraguay
  • noun A sweetener extracted from this plant that can be substituted for sugar is some uses. Much sweeter than an equal amount of sugar.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun any plant of the genus Stevia or the closely related genus Piqueria having glutinous foliage and white or purplish flowers; Central and South America
  • noun any plant of the genus Piqueria or the closely related genus Stevia

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin Stevia, genus name, after Petrus Jacobus Stevus, originally Pedro Jaime Esteve (c. 1500–1556), Spanish botanist and the first European to investigate the plants.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word stevia.

Examples

  • The sweetener called stevia, which is increasingly being used, comes from a shrub found in Paraguay, South America.

    The trouble with sweeteners, of particular concern for Diabetics 2008

  • "I had no idea what it was," Fukushima — who at the time was chef de cuisine at Jose Andres' cutting edge minibar restaurant — said of finding what turned out to be the herb known as stevia.

    Chefs talk about unusual farmers market finds 2011

  • And the leaves of a South American plant commonly known as stevia, Stevia rebaudiana, have been used for centuries in its homeland to sweeten maté tea.

    On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

  • And the leaves of a South American plant commonly known as stevia, Stevia rebaudiana, have been used for centuries in its homeland to sweeten maté tea.

    On Food and Cooking, The Science and Lore of the Kitchen Harold McGee 2004

  • Using egg whites and the natural sugar alternative known as stevia, I was able to bake up cakes with the proper taste.

    The Seattle Times 2012

  • Last year, technological improvements to an all-natural zero-calorie sweetener derived from a plant called stevia allowed Pepsi to devise several fast-growing brands, including Trop50, a variation on its Tropicana orange juice that has half the calories of the breakfast standby.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • Last year, technological improvements to an all-natural zero-calorie sweetener derived from a plant called stevia allowed Pepsi to devise several fast-growing brands, including Trop50, a variation on its Tropicana orange juice that has half the calories of the breakfast standby.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • Last year, technological improvements to an all-natural zero-calorie sweetener derived from a plant called stevia allowed Pepsi to devise several fast-growing brands, including Trop50, a variation on its Tropicana orange juice that has half the calories of the breakfast standby.

    BusinessWeek.com -- 2010

  • In consumer communications, all sweet extracts should be referred to as stevia, rather than the numerous scientific names (such as rebaudioside, reb A, steviol glycosides).

    Food IngredientsFIrst News 2010

  • "It's hard to know whether stevia is safe or not, as research is minimal," says Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition at New York University, who argues that it may be a stretch to call stevia products "natural".

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.