Meanings
plural myrrhs
- uncountableusuallyA red-brown resinous material, the dried sap of a tree of the genus Commiphora, especially Commiphora myrrha, used as perfume, incense or medicine.
A compound of eggs boiled with myrrh, pepper, and cinnamon, taken on several successive days, is recommended by Arabs for strengthening amorous vigor.
1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 1621 more example
The glories of Mary held his soul captive: spikenard and myrrh and frankincense, symbolising the preciousness of God's gifts to her soul, rich garments, symbolising her royal lineage, her emblems, the lateflowering plant and lateblossoming tree, symbolising the agelong gradual growth of her cultus among men.
1916, James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Macmillan Press Ltd, paperback, page 98Synonyms: Somali myrrhor
- ScotlanduncountableusuallyThe herb chervil.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA red-brown resinous material, the dried sap of a tree of the genus Commiphora, especially Commiphora myrrha, used as perfume, incense or medicine.
nounSynonym of chrism.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Semitic
- Ancient Greekμύρρα
- Latinmyrrha
- Old Englishmyrre
- Middle Englishmirre
- Englishmyrrh
From Middle English mirre, from Old English myrre, from Latin myrrha, from Ancient Greek μύρρα (múrrha), from Semitic. Compare Arabic مُرّ (murr, “myrrh”, literally “bitterness”), Hebrew מור / מֹר (mōr, “myrrh”, literally “bitterness”). Compare מרור : maror.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek σμύρνα
- σμύρνα (smúrna)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Arabic مُرّ
- مُرّ (murr)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Bengali গন্ধরস
- গন্ধরস (gondhoroś)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Bulgarian смирна
- смирна (smirna)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Catalan mirra
- mirradried sap of the myrrha tree
Chinese Cantonese 沒藥 /没药
- 沒藥 /没药 (mut⁶ joek⁶)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Chinese Mandarin 沒藥 /没药
- 沒藥 /没药 (mòyào)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Czech myrha
- myrhadried sap of the myrrha tree
Danish myrra
- myrradried sap of the myrrha tree
Dutch mirre
- mirredried sap of the myrrha tree
Esperanto mirho
- mirhodried sap of the myrrha tree
Estonian mürr
- mürrdried sap of the myrrha tree
Finnish myrha
- myrhadried sap of the myrrha tree
French myrrhe
- myrrhedried sap of the myrrha tree
German Myrrhe
- Myrrhedried sap of the myrrha tree
Greek σμύρνα
- σμύρνα (smýrna)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Hebrew מור, לֹט
- מורdried sap of the myrrha tree
- לֹטdried sap of the myrrha tree
Hindi गंधरस
- गंधरस (gandhras)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Hungarian mirha
- mirhadried sap of the myrrha tree
Icelandic myrra
- myrradried sap of the myrrha tree
Irish miorr
- miorrdried sap of the myrrha tree
Italian mirra
- mirradried sap of the myrrha tree
Japanese 没薬
- 没薬 (motsuyaku)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Korean 몰약
- 몰약 (moryak)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Latin murra, myrrha
- murradried sap of the myrrha tree
- myrrhadried sap of the myrrha tree
Malay morhabshi
- morhabshidried sap of the myrrha tree
Māori maira
- mairadried sap of the myrrha tree
Norwegian myrra
- myrradried sap of the myrrha tree
Polish mirra, mira
- mirradried sap of the myrrha tree
- miradried sap of the myrrha tree
Portuguese mirra
- mirradried sap of the myrrha tree
Romanian smirnă
- smirnădried sap of the myrrha tree
Russian ми́рра
- ми́рра (mírra)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Slovak myrha
- myrhadried sap of the myrrha tree
Spanish mirra
- mirradried sap of the myrrha tree
Swahili manemane
- manemanedried sap of the myrrha tree
Swedish myrra
- myrradried sap of the myrrha tree
Tagalog mira
- miradried sap of the myrrha tree
Thai มดยอบ
- มดยอบ (mót-yɔ̂ɔp)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Turkish mür
- mürdried sap of the myrrha tree
Ukrainian ми́рра, сми́рна
- ми́рра (mýrra)dried sap of the myrrha tree
- сми́рна (smýrna)dried sap of the myrrha tree
Vietnamese hất nhựa thơm
- hất nhựa thơmdried sap of the myrrha tree
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with myrrh
Sounds the same
Cite this entry
myrrh. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/myrrh
“myrrh.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/myrrh. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “myrrh,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/myrrh.
Source: myrrh on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.