English▸ noun [mass noun]
1 an aromatic plant whose greyish-green leaves are used as a culinary herb, native to southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Salvia officinalis, family Labiatae.
▪ used in names of aromatic plants of the mint family that resemble sage, e.g. wood sage.
2 (also white sage) either of two bushy North American plants with silvery-grey leaves.
▪ an aromatic plant burned by some Indigenous peoples of North America for its cleansing properties and as an incense (Artemisia ludoviciana, family Compositae).
▪ a plant of the goosefoot family (Krascheninnikovia lanata, family Chenopodiaceae).
– ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French sauge, from Latin salvia ‘healing plant’, from salvus ‘safe’.