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po·man·der (pōmăn′dər, pō-măn-)
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n.
1. A small scented object, especially:
a. An orange or other fruit studded with spices such as cloves, used to freshen the air in a closet or dresser drawer.
b. A ball-shaped arrangement of flowers hung from a ribbon and carried, as at a wedding.
c. A mixture of aromatic substances enclosed in a bag or box, formerly worn on one's person as a protection against odor or infection.
2. A case, box, or bag for wearing a mixture of aromatic substances on one's person.
[Middle English pomendambre, alteration of Old French pome d'embre, apple of amber, from Medieval Latin pōmum dē ambrā : pōmum, apple, ball (from Latin, fruit) + Latin dē, of; see DE- + ambrā, ablative of ambra, amber; see AMBER.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

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.

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