Dictionary entry

Camomile

Webster's Dictionary 1913

{ Cam″o‐mile, Cham″o‐mile } (kăm″ō̍‐mīl), n. [LL. camonilla, corrupted fr. Gr. χαμαίμηλον, lit. earth apple, being so called from the smell of its flower. See Humble, and Melon.] (Bot.) A genus of herbs (Anthemis) of the Composite family. The common camomile, A. nobilis, is used as a popular remedy. Its flowers have a strong and fragrant and a bitter, aromatic taste. They are tonic, febrifugal, and in large doses emetic, and the volatile oil is carminative.