HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

To look up an entry in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, use the search window above. For best results, after typing in the word, click on the “Search” button instead of using the “enter” key.

Some compound words (like bus rapid transit, dog whistle, or identity theft) don’t appear on the drop-down list when you type them in the search bar. For best results with compound words, place a quotation mark before the compound word in the search window.

guide to the dictionary

pel·li·to·ry ¹

(pĕlĭ-tôr′ē)

n. pl. pel·li·to·ries

Any of various plants of the genus Parietaria, having long narrow leaves, often hairy stems, and small axillary flowers.

[Middle English pellatori, variant of Middle English paritarie (influenced by peletre, wild thyme, plant of the genus Anacyclus; see PELLITORY²), from Anglo-Norman, from Late Latin parietāria, from feminine of Latin parietārius, of a wall or walls (so called because the plants often grow in walls), from pariēs, pariēt-, wall.]

pel·li·to·ry²

(pĕlĭ-tôr′ē)

n. pl. pel·li·to·ries

A small Mediterranean plant (Anacyclus pyrethrum) in the composite family, containing a volatile oil formerly used for the relief of toothache.

[Middle English peletori, alteration (influenced by paritarie, plant of the genus Parietaria); see PELLITORY¹ of peletre, from Old French piretre, peletre, from Latin pyrethrum; see PYRETHRUM.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

American Heritage Dictionary Products

HOW TO USE THE DICTIONARY

THE USAGE PANEL

AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY APP

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY BLOG

INTERESTED IN DICTIONARIES?

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

American Heritage Dictionary Products