Meanings
parsley1
plural parsleys
- countableuncountableusuallyA bright green, biennial herb, Petroselinum crispum, having many cultivars.
Though the parsley seemed to have died, outside it started to regenerate. New crimped leaves came free from the sprigs and spread.
2022, Sara Baume, Seven Steeples, Tramp Press, page 100 - uncountableusuallyThe leaves of this plant used in Middle Eastern, European, and American cooking.
- broadlyuncountableusuallyAny herb resembling parsley, such as cilantro (Chinese parsley) or chervil (French parsley).
present singular third person parsleys · participle present parsleying · participle past parsleyed · past parsleyed
- transitiveTo add parsley to.
Put a layer of mashed potato on one side and also on the other after peppering, salting and finely-chopped parsleying it to taste.
1923, William Teignmouth Shore, My Cook Book, page 46
Parsley2
plural Parsleys · alternative Parshley · alternative Parslow
- countableuncountableA surname from Old French.
- countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Mingo County, West Virginia, United States.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounannual or perennial herb with aromatic leaves
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
parsley · noun, verb
- Ancient Greekπετροσέλῑνον“parsley”
- Latinpetroselīnum
- Old Frenchperesil
- Middle Englishpersely
- Englishparsley
From Middle English persely, from Old French peresil, from Latin petroselīnum, from Ancient Greek πετροσέλῑνον (petrosélīnon, “parsley”), from πέτρος (pétros, “rock, stone”) + σέλῑνον (sélīnon, “celery”). Displaced Old English petersiliġe, which goes back to the same root.
More words from Middle English, Old French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Parsley · proper noun
- Old Frenchpasser“to pass”
- EnglishParsley
Altered form, later assimilated by folk etymology to the herb name parsley, of the medieval family name Passelewe, from Old French passer (“to pass”) + la (“the”) + ewe (“water”), probably a nickname for a ferryman or a person who travelled overseas.
More words from Old French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek πετροσέλινον
- πετροσέλινον (petrosélinon)plant Petroselinum crispum
Arabic مَقْدُونِس, بَقْدُونِس
- مَقْدُونِس (maqdūnis)plant Petroselinum crispum
- بَقْدُونِس (baqdūnis)plant Petroselinum crispum
- مَعْدُونِس (maʕdūnis)plant Petroselinum crispum
Basque perrexil
- perrexilplant Petroselinum crispum
Bulgarian магдано́з, магданоз
- магдано́з (magdanóz)plant Petroselinum crispum
- магданоз (magdanoz)leaves of this plant used in cooking
Catalan julivert
- julivertplant Petroselinum crispum
Chinese Cantonese 番茜
- 番茜 (faan¹ sai¹)plant Petroselinum crispum
Chinese Mandarin 歐芹 /欧芹, 荷蘭芹 /荷兰芹
- 歐芹 /欧芹 (ōuqín)plant Petroselinum crispum
- 荷蘭芹 /荷兰芹 (hélánqín)plant Petroselinum crispum
Czech petržel, petrželka
- petrželplant Petroselinum crispum
- petrželkaplant Petroselinum crispum
Danish persille
- persilleplant Petroselinum crispum
Dutch peterselie
- peterselieplant Petroselinum crispum
Esperanto petroselo
- petroseloplant Petroselinum crispum
Estonian petersell
- petersellplant Petroselinum crispum
Finnish persilja, persilja
- persiljaplant Petroselinum crispum
- persiljaleaves of this plant used in cooking
French persil, persil
- persilplant Petroselinum crispum
- persilleaves of this plant used in cooking
German Petersil, Petersilie
- Petersilplant Petroselinum crispum
- Petersilieplant Petroselinum crispum
- Petersilleaves of this plant used in cooking
- Petersilieleaves of this plant used in cooking
- Petersilienkrautleaves of this plant used in cooking
Greek μαϊντανός, πετροσέλινο
- μαϊντανός (maïntanós)plant Petroselinum crispum
- πετροσέλινο (petrosélino)plant Petroselinum crispum
Hebrew פֶּטְרוֹזִילְיָה
- פֶּטְרוֹזִילְיָה (petrozílya)plant Petroselinum crispum
Hungarian petrezselyem
- petrezselyemplant Petroselinum crispum
Icelandic steinselja
- steinseljaplant Petroselinum crispum
Indonesian peterseli
- peterseliplant Petroselinum crispum
Irish peirsil
- peirsilplant Petroselinum crispum
Italian prezzemolo
- prezzemoloplant Petroselinum crispum
Japanese パセリ
- パセリ (paseri)plant Petroselinum crispum
Korean 파슬리
- 파슬리 (paseulli)plant Petroselinum crispum
Latin petroselinum n or petroselinon
- petroselinum n or petroselinonplant Petroselinum crispum
Latvian pētersīlis
- pētersīlisplant Petroselinum crispum
Lithuanian petražolė
- petražolėplant Petroselinum crispum
Malay pasli
- pasliplant Petroselinum crispum
Māori pāhiri
- pāhiriplant Petroselinum crispum
Norwegian Bokmål persille
- persilleplant Petroselinum crispum
Persian جعفری, شومخ
- جعفری (ja'fari)plant Petroselinum crispum
- شومخ (šumax)plant Petroselinum crispum
Polish pietruszka, pietruszka
- pietruszkaplant Petroselinum crispum
- pietruszkaleaves of this plant used in cooking
- natka pietruszkileaves of this plant used in cooking
Portuguese perrexil, salsa
- perrexilplant Petroselinum crispum
- salsaplant Petroselinum crispum
- salsinhaplant Petroselinum crispum
Punjabi ਜਵੈਣ
- ਜਵੈਣ (javaiṇ)plant Petroselinum crispum
Romanian pătrunjel
- pătrunjelplant Petroselinum crispum
Russian петру́шка, петрушка
- петру́шка (petrúška)plant Petroselinum crispum
- петрушка (petrushka)leaves of this plant used in cooking
Scottish Gaelic pairseil, pearsal
- pairseilplant Petroselinum crispum
- pearsalplant Petroselinum crispum
Slovak petržlen
- petržlenplant Petroselinum crispum
Spanish perejil
- perejilplant Petroselinum crispum
Swedish persilja
- persiljaplant Petroselinum crispum
Tagalog perehil
- perehilplant Petroselinum crispum
Thai ผักชีฝรั่ง
- ผักชีฝรั่ง (pàk-chii-fà-ràng)plant Petroselinum crispum
Turkish maydanoz, madenüs
- maydanozplant Petroselinum crispum
- madenüsplant Petroselinum crispum
Ukrainian петру́шка
- петру́шка (petrúška)plant Petroselinum crispum
Vietnamese mùi tây
- mùi tâyplant Petroselinum crispum
Welsh persli, perllys
- persliplant Petroselinum crispum
- perllysplant Petroselinum crispum
Yiddish פּעטרעשקע, פּעטרישקע
- פּעטרעשקע (petreshke)plant Petroselinum crispum
- פּעטרישקע (petrishke)plant Petroselinum crispum
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
parsley. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parsley
“parsley.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parsley. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “parsley,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/parsley.
Source: parsley on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.