What does wintergreen mean?
Wintergreen is a noun used chiefly for an evergreen, aromatic plant and for the strongly flavored substance obtained from it. In North America, the name usually refers to Gaultheria procumbens, a low-growing plant with small red berries and aromatic leaves. British usage more often applies the name to related-looking plants of the genus Pyrola. Wintergreen also became familiar through its oil and extract, whose distinctive sweet, mint-like aroma is widely used in flavoring candy, gum, toothpaste, and medicinal preparations. The word can therefore refer either to the living plant or to an aromatic product associated with it. Its name is transparent: it describes greenery associated with the winter season. In modern English, the flavor is probably its most immediately recognizable meaning, while the botanical sense remains common in descriptions of forests, wild foods, and traditional remedies. Although wintergreen is usually a benign flavoring in small quantities, concentrated wintergreen oil can be hazardous when swallowed.
nounWintergreen is an evergreen, aromatic plant, especially the North American species Gaultheria procumbens; in British usage, the name can also refer to plants of the genus Pyrola. It also denotes a sweet, aromatic flavoring or oil associated with the plant.
- An evergreen, aromatic plant, especially Gaultheria procumbens, which bears small red berries and has leaves with a distinctive mint-like aroma.
- A plant of the genus Pyrola, called wintergreen particularly in British English.
- An aromatic oil, extract, or flavoring made from or associated with wintergreen plants.
"The dessert was flavored with a few drops of wintergreen oil."
"Several wintergreens grow beneath the pines in the cool, shaded woodland."
"The ingredients list includes wintergreen extract and a small amount of spearmint."
Used when referring to multiple plants; the names of the oil or flavoring are generally uncountable.
"Several wintergreens grow along the forest floor."
Wintergreen is both literal and appetizing: a green plant associated with winter, and a flavor that can recall candy, gum, and traditional medicine.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does wintergreen come from?
The word is an English compound formed from winter and green, referring to a plant that remains green during the cold season. Both elements descend from Old English words for the season and the color. The compound is attested in early modern English, while its later use for an aromatic oil developed from the plant's strongly scented leaves.
Related word forms
How wintergreen is actually used
North American usage usually identifies wintergreen with Gaultheria procumbens, while British usage more often associates the name with Pyrola species. As a flavor or oil, wintergreen is familiar in both varieties of English.
Easily confused with wintergreen
Wintergreen names an evergreen, aromatic plant and its characteristic flavoring, whereas wintermint names a hybrid of spearmint and peppermint.