Etymologically
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botanical

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Pronunciation

  • /bəˈtænɪkəl/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English botanic + -al,[2][3][4][5][6] while the OED takes it as formed directly on Medieval Latin botanicus or its source, Ancient Greek βοτανικός (botanikós, “of herbs”), with the English suffix.[7] Botanic is from French botanique, recorded in Cotgrave's dictionary of 1611,[7][6][2] and the Latin adjective, recorded from the 6th century,[7] from the Greek adjective, which comes from βοτάνη (botánē, “plant, grass, pasture, fodder”).[2][7][8][6] The Greek noun is related to βόσκω (bóskō, “to feed, graze”);[6][4][9][10] Etymonline notes that the Greek words had more to do with pasture than with plants.[2] Barnhart and Merriam-Webster compare Lithuanian gauja (“herd”) and probably Latin bōs (“cow”).[4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Relating to botany: 1627, in George Hakewill's Apologie of the Power and Providence of God.[7] The OED's date is earlier than those of the other dictionaries: 1654 in Merriam-Webster,[4] 1658 in Barnhart,[6] and the 1650s in Etymonline,[2] which is also earlier than botanic (1656).[6]

Semantic evolution

Botanical and botanic were used side by side in the 17th century;[6][7] botany itself was formed from them only in 1696, after words such as astronomy.[6][2] From 1783 the adjective described a substance or mixture made from plants, especially for cosmetics or medicine,[7] and Merriam-Webster also uses it of a plant grown in more or less its original wild form, such as a botanical tulip.[4] The noun, a plant or plant extract used in medicines, cosmetics, food supplements or for flavouring spirits, is dated by the OED to 1836[7] and by Merriam-Webster to about 1926.[4]

Timeline

  • 1611 – French botanique, in Cotgrave.[7]
  • 1627 – relating to botany.[7]
  • 1656 – botanic.[6]
  • 1696 – botany.[6]
  • 1783 – made from plants, of a substance.[7]
  • 1836 – noun, a plant or plant extract used in products.[7]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Of or relating to botany or to plants: a botanical expedition to the Andes.[10][4][7]
  2. Made from or containing plants or plant extracts: a botanical skin cream.[4][7]
  3. Of a cultivated plant: still close to its wild form.[4]

Noun

  1. A substance taken from a plant and used in medicines, cosmetics, pesticides or flavourings, as in gin.[10][4][7]

Word family

  • botanically
  • nonbotanical
  • unbotanical
  • botanical garden
  • botany
  • botanic
  • botanist

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  9. ^ Ayto, John (2005), Word Origins: The Secret Histories of English Words from A to Z, 2nd ed., London: A & C Black
  10. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins