Where does “ginseng” come from?
Ginseng comes from Mandarin 人参, literally meaning "man root," via earlier English adaptations of East Asian plant names.
ginseng (English): Any plant of two species of the genus Panax (Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius), having forked roots supposed to have medicinal and aphrodisiac properties
Definitions
- Any plant of two species of the genus Panax (Panax ginseng and Panax quinquefolius), having forked roots supposed to have medicinal and aphrodisiac properties
Ancestry of “ginseng”, step by step
ginseng traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Mandarin 人参
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mandarin | 人参 | — |
via Min Nan 人參
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Min Nan | 人參 | — |