Juniper

How to spell juniper

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce juniper

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does juniper mean?

1. nounAn evergreen shrub or small tree with needle-like leaves and small berry-like cones, often used to flavour gin.

Juniper in a sentence

• A row of juniper lined the gravel path beside the house.

• The gin gets its sharp, piney taste from the berries of the juniper.

Where does juniper come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes directly from the Latin juniperus, the classical name for the evergreen shrub whose aromatic berries the Romans valued. The exact roots of juniperus are debated, though many scholars connect the first part to iuncus, meaning 'rush' or 'reed', possibly because the plant was thought to grow in similar places or to have a comparable slender form. The same Latin word travelled into several languages and even gave rise, through Old French genevre, to the spirit name 'gin', which is flavoured with juniper berries; that link between juniper and gin is a useful memory hook. English adopted the term in the late medieval period, keeping the Latin spelling close to its original shape, which is why the unstressed middle vowel is written with an 'i' rather than the schwa sound we actually say. The tricky part for writers is that quiet '-niper' ending, where the vowels are easy to swap.

How the word is built

• junip- (from Latin juniperus, the juniper tree)
• -er (English ending reflecting the Latin -erus)