yerbaEnglishOxford New American Dictionaryyerba /ˈyerbə, ˈyər- , ˈjɛrbə / (also yerba maté /ˈyerbə mäˈtā , ˌjɛrbə mɑˈteɪ /) ▸ noun another term for maté. – ORIGIN early 19th century : from Spanish, literally ‘herb’.