A tart, lemony herb with arrow-shaped leaves used in cooking, or a reddish-brown color. The plant has a distinctive sour taste due to oxalic acid.
From Arabic حُمَّاض (ḥummāḍ), meaning 'sour plant,' referring to its acidic taste. The word entered English through Old French surele in the 14th century. The color meaning developed from the reddish-brown shade of some sorrel varieties.
Sorrel's name literally means 'sour' in Arabic, and this same root gave rise to words for sourness across multiple languages! The plant was so valued for its tangy flavor that its Arabic name spread across Europe, becoming essential in French cuisine as oseille.
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