catnip
American Heritage Dictionary:
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cat·nip
(kăt'nĭp') 
n.
n.
- A hairy aromatic perennial herb (Nepeta cataria) in the mint family, native to Eurasia and containing an aromatic oil to which cats are strongly attracted.
- Any of various other mostly aromatic plants of the genus Nepeta, cultivated for their ornamental foliage and clusters of blue, lavender, or white flowers.
[CAT + nip, catnip (variant of nep , from Middle English nept, nep , from Old English nepte , from Latin nepeta, aromatic herb , perhaps of Etruscan origin).]
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Catnip (Nepeta cataria). (credit: Walter Chandoha)
Catnip (Nepeta cataria). (credit: Walter Chandoha)
For more information on catnip, visit Britannica.com.
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Origin: 1712
Since the Middle Ages, the English had called it cat mint, because it belongs to the mint family, and because cats, domestic and wild, go wild for it. Since the late Middle Ages, the English had also called it nep. A recipe of about 1420 calls for seasoning "with persoley, sauge, ysope, savery, A little nep."
In America, in the eighteenth century, we nipped the nep and added the cat to make it catnip. The first evidence is from Massachusetts in 1712: "He boiled tansy, sage, hysop, and catnip in some of ye best wort." In this country, Nepeta cataria has been known as catnip ever since. Perhaps nip represents an attempt to make sense of the word; we can think of a cat nipping the plant, or being nipped by it.
Columbia Encyclopedia:
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catnip
catnip or catmint, strong-scented perennial herb (Nepeta cataria) of the family Labiatae (mint family), native to Europe and Asia but naturalized in the United States. A tea of the leaves and flowing tops has long been used as a domestic remedy for various ailments. Catnip is best known for its stimulating effect on cats. Catnip is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Lamiales, family Labiatae.
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Source: Nepeta cataria L. (Family Lamiaceae).
Common/vernacular names: Catnep, catnip, and catmint.
Gray, hairy, erect, branched perennial, 40–100 cm high; leaves ovate, crenate, base cordate; 2–8 cm long; flowering in spike, white, tinged with purple; native to southern and eastern Europe; widely naturalized elsewhere in Europe and North America, Central Asia, and the Iranian plateaus; commercially harvested from naturalized populations in Virginia, North Carolina; cultivated in Washington, Europe, and Argentina. Part used is the flowering tops and the essential oil obtained from steam distillation.
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| Cedar Leaf Oil |
Wiley Dictionary of Flavors:
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Catnip
Catnip is an attractant to cats. The herb is a member of the valerian family. Another cousin to catnip is lamb's lettuce. See Masking Agent, Pet Palatability Flavors, Sensory Analysis.
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A plant in the mint family (Nepeta cataria) that contains the volatile terpenoid, nepetalactone. It has distinctive aromatic qualities that are particularly attractive to cats, inducing behavior that is variously described as sexual, playful, and sometimes as hallucinatory. Often included in stuffed toys marketed for the domestic cat. Used as a tea in Western herbal medicine.
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 1994-2012 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
Houghton Mifflin Word Origins
America in So Many Words, by David K.Barnhart and Allan A. Metcalf. Copyright © 1997 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Columbia Encyclopedia
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.
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Leung's Encyclopedia of Natural Ingredients
Leung's Encyclopedia of Common Natural Ingredients Used in Food, Drugs, and Cosmetics Copyright © 2010 by Wiley-Blackwell. Wiley and the Wiley logo are registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Used here by license. Read more
Wiley Dictionary of Flavors
Copyright © 2008 by Wiley-Blackwell. Wiley and the Wiley logo are registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Used here by license. Read more
Saunders Veterinary Dictionary
Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.
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