Do you speak a little Chinese when you say 'ginseng'?

'Ginseng' is a word borrowed from Chinese 'renshen'. The word entered the English language some time around 1654.

ginseng [noun] [1654]

• a Chinese perennial herb ( syn. Panax ginseng of the family Araliaceae, the ginseng family) having five leaflets on eac...
• any of several plants related to ginseng
• a North American herb (P. quinquefolius)
• the root of a ginseng

See 'ginseng' on the Loan Words Map

See more loan words from Chinese.

Etymology: Chinese (Beijing) 'rénshēn'

See more loan words from 1600s.