mint1
/mɪnt
/noun
1An aromatic plant native to temperate regions of the Old World, several kinds of which are used as culinary herbs: plant mint in a large pot with drainage holes [count noun]: there are many other mints with distinct aromas
- Genus Mentha, family Labiatae (or Lamiaceae; the mint family): several species and hybrids, in particular the widely cultivated common mint or spearmint (M. spicata) and peppermint (M. × piperita). The mint family, the members of which have distinctive two-lobed flowers and square stems, also includes the dead-nettles and many aromatic herbs.
- If space limits you to only three herbs, plant mint, parsley, and thyme.
- This method works well with groundcovers and other plants that spread quickly, such as creeping thyme, mints, lamb's ears, ajuga, vinca, mums, asters, and daisies.
1.1 [mass noun] The flavour of mint, especially peppermint: a tasty mint and chocolate flavoured cone...
- He tasted faintly of chocolate with a hint of mint flavoured toothpaste.
- The flavours available are mint, strawberry, apple, grape and believe it or not, cappuccino too.
- I could have at least got mint flavoured or cinnamon.
2A peppermint sweet: Dickie pulled out a packet of mints from his pocket...
- Also, keep a packet of mints or chewing gum in your bag in case you need to freshen up later.
- Paste-type mixtures are also used for making sweets, especially mints.
- Gelatin, an ingredient made from cow bones, is a frequent ingredient in yogurt, ice cream, mints, gummy candies, margarine, and the coatings on some gel caps.
Derivatives
minty
/ adjective (mintier, mintiest) ...- For those of you who happen to be kissing ‘anti-garlic’ persons, we suggest you follow cloves with a sprig of parsley, for a minty breath mask.
- The minty, mind-clearing lotion with peppermint and eucalyptus, which is dabbed onto the temples, has apparently been proven to make 91% of users feel calmer.
- ‘Meaty’ aromas of plum with spiced wood and minty scents deliver dense plum fruit flavours and festive-spiced wood backing with a great intensity and length.
Origin
Old English minte, of West Germanic origin; related to German Minze, ultimately via Latin from Greek minthē.
Latin moneta is the source of both mint and of money. The phrase in mint condition, ‘new or as new’, refers to a newly minted coin, and people have made a mint, or a great deal of money, since the late 16th century. The mint (Old English) that refers to the plant used as a flavouring is an entirely different word, which goes back to Greek minthē which also lies behind menthol (mid 19th century).
Rhymes
mint2
/mɪnt/noun
1A place where money is coined, especially under state authority: die links between coins indicate that they were made at the same mint...
- He added that the coin mint moved to that site in 1546, just before Edward VI became King, and the minting of coins halted there in 1554.
- By counterfeit coinage was meant not so much the striking of imitations from base metal (for which there is in fact very little extant evidence) as coins struck in mints not controlled by the king.
- Britain forbade her colonies to set up their own mints; and British coins brought in by new colonists were soon sent home to pay for imports.
Synonyms
coinage factory, money factory, coining works
rare coinery
1.1 (a mint) informal A large sum of money: the curtains had cost a mint the bank made a mint from the upheaval in the money markets...
- This particular private investor has made a mint from investing in Workspace and now owns a sizeable stake.
- They made a mint out of New Zealand Rail, took their money, and left.
- I had been meaning to go, I really had… but then I missed the pre-registration deadline, so it was gonna cost a mint.
Synonyms
a fortune, a vast sum of money;
millions, billions, a king's ransom
informal a small fortune, pots of money, stacks of money, heaps of money, a tidy sum, a bundle, a wad, a pile
British informal a bomb, a packet, loadsamoney, shedloads
North American informal big bucks, big money, gazillions
Australian informal big bickies, motser, motza
adjective
1(Of an object) in pristine condition; as new: a pair of speakers, mint, £160...
- It is a great second box set of 3 records, mint.
- Offered for sale are Disney Toy Story 8 miniature figurines, mint, in the original box.
Synonyms
brand new, as new, pristine, perfect, immaculate, unblemished, undamaged, untarnished, unmarked, unmarred, unused, fresh, first-class, excellent
informal spanking
1.1British Very good: there was Dean, looking really mint in his new jacket
verb [with object]
1Make (a coin) by stamping metal: only coins of a relatively high denomination were minted...
- But there are also plenty of away-from-the-computer projects, such as drawing monarch butterflies and minting your own coins.
- Most countries that switch continue to mint their own coins, however.
- Legend has it that each new Governor would mint his own coins but local people kept using bread as their currency regardless.
Synonyms
coin, stamp, stamp out, strike, cast, punch, die, forge, make, manufacture, produce
1.1Produce for the first time: an example of newly minted technology...
- Only the icons, also for sale, looked newly minted, unconnected with obsolete dreams of empire, transcending the rotary phone and the swastika.
- Also, words and phrases rarely appear out of nothing, newly minted and ready for use.
- Father Collins, North Fork's newly minted, liberal priest, finds himself filled with doubt about his calling.
Synonyms
create, invent, make up, think up, dream up, hatch, devise, frame, originate, come up with, fabricate, fashion, produce
Phrases
in mint condition
Origin
Old English mynet 'coin', of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch munt and German Münze, from Latin moneta 'money'. The adjective derives from an elliptical use of in mint condition.