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catmint (KAT-mint) - n., a Eurasian plant (Nepeta cataria) with scented leaves of which cats are fond, catnip; any member of genus Nepeta.
Catmint is chiefly British usage, and it is indeed a relative of the mints -- and its name (in use since at least the 13th century, with an older spelling of cattesminte) does indeed mean cat's mint. Also called catswort, though that's much rarer. Catnip, on the other hand, is a more recent Americanism from Colonial times that spread back to the Old Country.
---L.
Catmint is chiefly British usage, and it is indeed a relative of the mints -- and its name (in use since at least the 13th century, with an older spelling of cattesminte) does indeed mean cat's mint. Also called catswort, though that's much rarer. Catnip, on the other hand, is a more recent Americanism from Colonial times that spread back to the Old Country.
---L.
