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valerian

noun
/vəˈlɪəɹɪən/UK

Etymology

From Old French valeriane or Medieval Latin valeriāna, a reinterpretation of what is found as German Baldrian after valēre (“to be powerful”) or also the gentilic name Valerius, which is seemingly borrowed in the Dark Age period from the late 6ᵗʰ to early 8ᵗʰ century from Turkic or Proto-Mongolic, when the Pannonian Avars were direct neighbours to the Germans, notably also present in Hungarian bojtorján (“burdock”), ultimately from Proto-Mongolic, reflected as Middle Mongol ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷᠭᠠᠨ᠎ᠠ (balčirɣan-a, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as ᠪᠠᠯᠴᠢᠷ (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”) + plant name suffix ᠭᠠᠨᠠ (-ɣana), Mongolian балчиргана (balčirgana, “false hellebore; angelica”), composed as балчир (balčir, “infant; young, tender, fresh, rank”) + plant name suffix -гана (-gana). See Ottoman Turkish بالدران (baldıran, “hemlock”) for Turkic cognates.

  1. derived from valeriāna
  2. derived from valeriane

Definitions

  1. A hardy perennial flowering plant, Valeriana officinalis, with heads of sweetly scented…

    A hardy perennial flowering plant, Valeriana officinalis, with heads of sweetly scented pink or white flowers.

    • In the event of anyone wishing to invoke the very Prince of Spirits, the following ingredients were prescribed to be burnt - Juice of Hypericon, Saffron, Artemisia, and the root of Valerian.
    • Tobacco and the plant valerian are also considered to be anaphrodisiac in their effects, diminishing sexual inclination.

  2. More generally, any plant of the genus Valeriana.

  3. The root of Valeriana officinalis, used in herbal medicine.

  4. ›+ 4 more definitions

    1. An extract of the dried roots of the Valeriana officinalis used in herbal medicine as a…

      An extract of the dried roots of the Valeriana officinalis used in herbal medicine as a sedative.

    2. a Roman cognomen, notably borne by Publius Licinius Valerianus, a Roman emperor

    3. A male given name from Latin, of rare usage.

      • 10243—Valerian Joseph Eikmeier, D.
      • Miss Coletta Hunke, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Hunke, was married to Valerian Eikmeier, son of Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Eikmeier at St. Boniface church, May 1, 1946.
      • The outstanding Omega man Plaque went to Valerian Edward Smith of Howard University, […]

    4. A transliteration of the Russian male given name Валериа́н (Valerián).

The neighborhood

Derived

red valerian

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for valerian. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA