Standard Lemma guide

silphium

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

A plant, thought to be extinct, used in Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome in cooking and as a contraceptive.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

tall North American perennial herbs

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: genus Silphium

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: asterid dicot genus

History

Etymology

From Latin silphium, from Ancient Greek σίλφιον (sílphion).

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Ancient Greek: σίλφιον (sílphion) — a plant, thought to be extinct, used in Ancient Greece and Rome
  • Latin: sirpe — a plant, thought to be extinct, used in Ancient Greece and Rome