Definitions

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

  • noun An annual bristly herb (Borago officinalis) native to the Mediterranean region, having blue or purplish star-shaped flowers, edible leaves and stems, and seeds containing oil used as a dietary supplement.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A European plant, Borago officinalis, the principal representative of the genus, occasionally cultivated for its blue flowers.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) A mucilaginous plant of the genus Borago (B. officinalis), which is used, esp. in France, as a demulcent and diaphoretic.

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

  • noun herb a Mediterranean plant with oval leaves, used in salads.

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

  • noun hairy blue-flowered European annual herb long used in herbal medicine and eaten raw as salad greens or cooked like spinach
  • noun an herb whose leaves are used to flavor sauces and punches; young leaves can be eaten in salads or cooked

Etymologies

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

[Middle English, from Old French bourage, from Medieval Latin borāgō, probably from Arabic bū‘araq, from ’abū ‘araq, source of sweat (from its use as a sudorific) : ’ab, father, source; see ℵb in Semitic roots + ‘araq, sweat; see עrq in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old French borage (compare French bourrache), from Medieval Latin borrago, either from Latin borra ("short wool, rough hair") or Arabic الأب من العرق ("abu arak, lit. father of sweat").

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Examples

  • Regarding cow tongue flower, better known as borage by normal people, today I learned from Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer, that the fresh flowers are often used in Pimms, the classic British summer cocktail.

    things i've learned today tannaz 2006

  • Regarding cow tongue flower, better known as borage by normal people, today I learned from Nigella Lawson's Forever Summer, that the fresh flowers are often used in Pimms, the classic British summer cocktail.

    Archive 2006-07-01 tannaz 2006

  • He told me, first of all, that I should not buy cow tongue flower I learned later that the English name is 'borage' teabags, but rather that I have to get the actual loose petals, or else it won't work.

    Archive 2006-07-01 tannaz 2006

  • He told me, first of all, that I should not buy cow tongue flower I learned later that the English name is 'borage' teabags, but rather that I have to get the actual loose petals, or else it won't work.

    The Cow Tongue Flower Chronicles tannaz 2006

  • The decision by farmers to profit from high wheat prices by increasing arable production has been at the expense of crops such as borage, used in pharmaceutical manufacturing and a prolific source of nectar for bees.

    Belfasttelegraph.co.uk - Frontpage RSS Feed 2008

  • Ashley Palmer-Watts Roast scallops with cucumber ketchup and borage at Heston Blumenthal's Dinner restaurant in London.

    Culinary Reflections Bruce Palling 2011

  • "The flowers added a synergy between the fish and vegetables—borage, for example, tastes like oyster and cucumber."

    Best of the Food Fest Kathleen Squires 2012

  • Pink pieces of tuna belly lined the plate like petits fours, adorned with bright blue borage flowers and beaming yellow cucumber blossoms.

    Best of the Food Fest Kathleen Squires 2012

  • Here you can find flavours that use Fortnum's own produce for ingredients; like stem ginger and borage honey.

    Ten of the best UK ice-cream sellers 2011

  • 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.

    Best New Restaurants and backyard garden 2009

Comments

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  •     Magnus Bede carried his son straight to the laboratory. "Is your original potion still here?" he asked.

        Yorick showed him the flask and everything he'd put in it: borage, betony, camphor, and sauerkraut.

    - William Steig, The Toy Brother

    September 15, 2008

  • Usage/historical note on mandrake.

    October 9, 2017