peppermint

Peppermint, a mint with oblong, lanceolate, serrate, glabrous leaves; pedicels and flowers nearly smooth; flowers in cylindrical spikes, interrupted below. Oil of peppermint, the oil distilled from the fresh flowers of peppermint. It enters into the composition of peppermint water, essence of peppermint, and spirit of peppermint. It is stimulant and carminative, and is used to correct flatulence and griping in the intestinal canal, and to mask the nauseous taste of some medicines.

Entry from Everybody's Cyclopedia, 1912.

Pep"per*mint (?), n. [Pepper + mint.]

1. Bot.

An aromatic and pungent plant of the genus Mentha (M. piperita), much used in medicine and confectionery.

2.

A volatile oil (oil of peppermint) distilled from the fresh herb; also, a well-known essence or spirit (essence of peppermint) obtained from it.

3.

A lozenge of sugar flavored with peppermint.

Peppermint camphor. Chem. Same as Menthol. -- Peppermint tree Bot., a name given to several Australian species of gum tree (Eucalyptus amygdalina, E. piperita, E. odorata, etc.) which have hard and durable wood, and yield an essential oil.

© Webster 1913.