What does burnet mean?
Burnet is the common name for a group of plants belonging to the genus Sanguisorba, most familiar to gardeners and cooks as salad burnet, Sanguisorba minor. Its small, serrated leaves carry a distinctly cucumber-like flavour, which has long made it a favourite in salads, cool drinks, and herbal vinegars — indeed, the Elizabethans planted it in their gardens partly so that walkers could refresh themselves with its leaves. In British natural history, 'burnet' is also applied to certain brightly marked brown moths, such as the six-spot burnet, often seen flying by day on chalk grasslands. The word is largely confined to gardening, cookery, and entomological contexts, but it is a useful term to know for anyone interested in herbs or wildlife. Derived through Old French from roots meaning 'brown', the name reflects the plant's duller flower spikes rather than its fresh green leaves.
nounAny of various plants of the genus Sanguisorba, especially salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor), whose leaves have a cucumber-like flavour and are used in salads and drinks; also, in British usage, a brown moth of the genus Zygaena or related genera.
- A plant of the genus Sanguisorba, especially salad burnet, used as a culinary herb with a cucumber-like flavour.
- In British English, a brown day-flying moth, especially of the family Zygaenidae.
"She scattered fresh burnet leaves over the salad for their subtle cucumber taste."
"The chef garnished the chilled soup with tender young burnet leaves."
"A six-spot burnet rested on the wildflower meadow's knapweed heads."
Standard pluralisation applies; used when speaking of multiple plants or multiple moth specimens.
"The border was edged with burnets and thyme."
Salad burnet tastes like cucumber but grows far more happily in a garden than any cucumber vine ever will.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of burnet
The word burnet entered English from Old French 'burnete', a diminutive or derivative of 'brun', meaning brown — originally applied to a dark-brown cloth before being transferred to plants whose seed heads or flowers appeared brownish. It is therefore cognate with words like 'brunette' and 'brunet', all tracing back to the Germanic root behind 'brown'. The plant name has been established in English since the Middle Ages, appearing in medieval herbals.
How burnet is actually used
Primarily encountered in gardening, cookery, and natural-history contexts rather than everyday conversation. When referring to the culinary herb, 'salad burnet' is the most common specific form; when referring to the insect, 'six-spot burnet' is the best-known species name.
Easily confused with burnet
A gibbet is an execution gallows, unrelated to the burnet plant; the two merely share a superficially similar shape in print.