LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

herba

herba f (genitive herbae)
Classical[ˈhɛr.ba]Ecclesiastical[ˈɛr.ba]
Mille Verba core vocabulary

Meaning

  1. femininegrass, herbage
  2. feminineherb
  3. feminineweeds
  4. feminineplant

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

viridis et mollis planta terrae; bovēs herbam edunt.
herba -ae f — in Mille Verba, Arborēs et Plantae

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativeherbaherbae
genitiveherbaeherbārum
dativeherbaeherbīs
accusativeherbamherbās
ablativeherbāherbīs
vocativeherbaherbae

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

messis in herbis est (Liv. 25. 15)
the crop is in the blade.
adhuc tua messis in herba est (proverb.)
your crop is still green, i.e. you are still far from your ambition.
arbores stirpesque, herbae stirpesque (De Fin. 5. 11. 33)
the vegetable kingdom.

herba, ae, f. old Lat. forb-ea; Gr. φορβή; Sanscr. root bhar-, to nourish,
I. springing vegetation, grass, green stalks or blades, green crops, herbage, an herb (cf.: gramen, faenum, caespes, glaeba): herba cubile Praebebat, multa et molli lanugine abundans, Lucr. 5, 816: in molli consedimus herba, Verg. E. 3, 55: cum ceteris in campo exercentibus in herba ipse recubuisset, Cic. de Or. 2, 71, 287: abicere se in herba, id. ib. 1, 7, 28: fusus per herbam (agricola), Verg. G. 2, 527 al.: invitant (Pecudes) herbae gemmantes rore recenti, Lucr. 2, 319; so, gemmantes rore, id. 5, 461: herbae rore vigentes, id. 2, 361: teneras per herbas Ludere, id. 1, 260: nova tum tellus herbas virgultaque primum Sustulit, id. 5, 790: ex quibusdam stirpibus et herbis, Cic. N. D. 2, 64, 161: corona ex asperis herbis et agrestibus, id. Div. 1, 34, 75; cf. ib. 2, 32, 68: quas herbas pecudes non edunt, homines edunt, Plaut. Ps. 3, 2, 23 sq.; cf.: fungos, helvellas, herbas omnes ita condiunt, ut nihil possit esse suavius, Cic. Fam. 7, 26, 2: herbis vivis et urticā, Hor. Ep. 1, 12, 7: solstitialis herba, Plaut. Ps. 1, 1, 36: interim mores mali Quasi herba irrigua succreverunt uberrume, id. Trin. 1, 1, 9: fallax veneni, a poisonous plant, Verg. E. 4, 24: nulla neque amnem Libavit quadrupes, nec graminis attigit herbam, a blade, id. ib. 5, 26; cf. Ov. M. 10, 87: et sulcis frumenti quaereret herbam, young crop, Verg. G. 1, 134: novitates si spem afferunt, ut tamquam in herbis non fallacibus fructus appareat, etc., Cic. Lael. 19, 68; cf.: primis segetes moriuntur in herbis, Ov. M. 5, 4: Ceres dominum primis fallebat in herbis, id. F. 4, 645.—So prov.: saepe audivi, inter os atque offam multa intervenire posse; verum vero inter offam atque herbam, ibi vero longum intervallum est, Cato ap. Gell. 13, 17, 1; cf.: sed nimium properas et adhuc tua messis in herba est, Ov. H. 17, 263; and: egone, qui indolem ingenii tui in germine etiam tum et in herba et in flore dilexerim, nunc frugem ipsam maturae virtutis nonne multo multoque amplius diligam? Front. Ep. ad Anton. 1, 5 Mai.: omnis illa laus ... velut in herba vel flore praecerpta ad nullam certam et solidam pervenit frugem, Tac. Dial. 9, 5.—Prov.: herbam dare, to own one's self beaten: herbam do cum ait Plautus, significat: victum me fateor; quod est antiquae et pastoralis vitae indicium. Nam qui in prato cursu aut viribus contendebant, cum superati erant, ex eo solo, in quo certamen erat, decerptam herbam adversario tradebant, Paul. ex Fest. p. 99 Müll.; cf. Serv. Verg. A. 8, 128; Varr. ib.; Plin. 22, 4, 4, § 8; Att. and Afran. ap. Non. 317, 18 and 20.—
II. Transf., weeds, useless plants: officiant laetis ne frugibus herbae, Verg. G. 1, 69; 2, 251; cf. id. ib. 2, 411; Plin. 18, 30, 72, § 300.

Origins

Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁-der. Proto-Indo-European *gʰer-dʰ? Latin herba Traditionally derived from Proto-Indo-European *gʰer-dʰ, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreh₁- (“to grow, become green”), and compared to grāmen (“grass, turf”) and English grass. However, De Vaan is skeptical of this derivation, preferring the variant *ǵʰreh₁-, noting that *gʰer-dʰ cannot be derived from this *ǵʰreh₁-, and leaves the origin open.

Ibero-Romance
  • Portugueseervafrom Old Galician-Portuguese erva
  • Spanishhierbafrom Old Spanish yerva
  • Englishyerbafrom Old Spanish yerva
  • Spanishyerbafrom Old Spanish yerva
  • Aragoneseyerba
  • Galicianherbafrom Old Galician-Portuguese erva
  • Kabuverdianuerbafrom Old Galician-Portuguese erva
  • Asturianyerbafrom Old Leonese erva
  • Asturianherbafrom Old Leonese erva
  • Extremaduranyerbafrom Old Leonese erva
Gallo-Romance
  • Frenchherbefrom Old French erbe
  • Englishherbfrom Old French erbe
  • Franco-Provençalhèrba
  • Bourguignonharbefrom Old French erbe
  • Champenoisharbefrom Old French erbe
  • Franc-Comtoishérbefrom Old French erbe
  • Haitian Creolezèbfrom Old French erbe
  • Galloarbfrom Old French erbe
  • Lorrainhèbefrom Old French erbe
  • Normanherbefrom Old French erbe
Occitano-Romance
  • Catalanherbafrom Old Catalan erba
  • Occitanèrbafrom Old Occitan erba
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianerba
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianiarbă
  • Aromanianearbã
  • Aromanianiarbã
  • Istro-Romanianiorbe
  • Megleno-Romanianiarbă
  • Megleno-Romaniani̯arbă
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italianerba
  • Corsicanerba
  • Corsicanarba
  • Dalmatianiarba
  • Dalmatianjarba
  • Istriotgièrba
  • Istriotyerba
  • Sicilianerbafrom Italian erba
  • Neapolitanerva
  • Neapolitanereva
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianjerbe
  • Romansherva
  • Romanshearva
  • Romansherba
  • Romanshjarva
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianêrba
  • Ligurianèrba
  • Lombarderba
  • Lombardèrba
  • Piedmonteseerba
  • Romagnolerba
  • Romagnolérba
Borrowings
  • Idoherbofrom Esperanto herbo
  • Interlinguaherba

Quick answers

What does herba mean in Latin?
herba, a noun, means “grass, herbage; herb; weeds”.
What is the genitive of herba?
The genitive singular is herbae. herba is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce herba?
In classical Latin, [ˈhɛr.ba]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈɛr.ba].