Definitions for Silphium
sil·phi·um

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Silphium, genus Silphiumnoun

   tall North American perennial herbs

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. silphiumnoun

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

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Silphium

   Silphium (also known as silphion, laserwort, or laser) is an unidentified plant that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning, perfume, aphrodisiac, and medicine. It also was used as a contraceptive by ancient Greeks and Romans. It was the essential item of trade from the ancient North African city of Cyrene, and was so critical to the Cyrenian economy that most of their coins bore a picture of the plant. The valuable product was the plant's resin (laser, laserpicium, or lasarpicium). Silphium was an important species in classical antiquity, as evidenced by the Egyptians and Knossos Minoans developing a specific glyph to represent the silphium plant. It was used widely by most ancient Mediterranean cultures; the Romans, who mentioned the plant in poems or songs, considered it "worth its weight in denarii" (silver coins), or even gold. Legend said that it was a gift from the god Apollo. The exact identity of silphium is unclear. It was claimed to have become extinct in Roman times. It is commonly believed to be a fennel relative in the genus Ferula, perhaps a variety of giant fennel. The extant plants Margotia gummifera, Ferula tingitana, and Ferula drudeana have been suggested as other possibilities. Another theory is that it was simply a high quality variety of asafetida, a common spice in the Roman Empire. The two spices were considered the same by many Romans including the geographer Strabo. In 2021, a study from Istanbul University identified Ferula drudeana as a likely candidate for Silphium, matching both the appearance of Silphium in descriptions and the spice-like gum-resin of Silphium, though without a surviving sample no genetic analysis can be made.

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. silphium

   Silphium is a plant genus that was used in classical antiquity as a seasoning and as a medicine. It was so important to the economy of Cyrene, ancient Greece, that it was depicted on their coins. The exact identity of the plant is unclear and presumed extinct. Its medical uses included the treatment of cough, sore throat, fever, indigestion, and various other ailments. Nowadays, the term silphium is also applied to several living plant species in the family Apiaceae.

WikidataRate this definition:4.5 / 2 votes

1. Silphium

   Silphium was a plant that was used in classical antiquity as a rich seasoning and as a medicine. It was the essential item of trade from the ancient North African city of Cyrene, and was so critical to the Cyrenian economy that most of their coins bore a picture of the plant. The valuable product was the plant's resin. Silphium was an important species in prehistory, as evidenced by the Egyptians and Knossos Minoans developing a specific glyph to represent the silphium plant. It was used widely by most ancient Mediterranean cultures; the Romans considered it "worth its weight in denarii". Legend said that it was a gift from the god Apollo. The exact identity of silphium is unclear. It is commonly believed to be a now-extinct plant of the genus Ferula, perhaps a variety of "giant fennel". The still-extant plant Ferula tingitana has been suggested as another possibility. Another plant, asafoetida, was used as a cheaper substitute for silphium, and had similar enough qualities that Romans, including the geographer Strabo, used the same word to describe both.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Silphium

   sil′fi-um, n. a genus of American composites with resinous juice—prairie-dock, cup-plant, rosin-weed: an umbelliferous plant whose juice the ancient Greeks used—the Latin laserpitium.

Matched Categories

1. • Asterid Dicot Genus

How to pronounce Silphium?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say Silphium in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of Silphium in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of Silphium in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=Silphium
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Silphium
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silphium
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=Silphium
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=Silphium