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silphium. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
silphium, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
silphium in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
silphium you have here. The definition of the word
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English
Etymology
From Latin silphium, from Ancient Greek σίλφιον (sílphion).
Noun
silphium (plural silphiums or silphia)
- (historical) A plant, thought to be extinct, used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in cooking and as a contraceptive.
2022 May 15, James Tapper, “Caesar’s favourite herb was the Viagra of ancient Rome. Until climate change killed it off”, in The Observer:Of all the mysteries of ancient Rome, silphium is among the most intriguing. Romans loved the herb as much as we love chocolate. They used silphium as perfume, as medicine, as an aphrodisiac and turned it into a condiment, called laser, that they poured on to almost every dish.
Synonyms
Translations
a plant, thought to be extinct, used in Ancient Greece and Rome
See also
Further reading