herb of Paraguayn.
/ˌhəːb əv ˈparəɡwʌɪ/, /ˌhəːb əv ˌparəˈɡwʌɪ/, U.S. /ˌ(h)ərb əv ˈpɛrəˌɡwaɪ/ Now historical and rare.
The plant maté, Ilex paraguariensis. Also: the leaves of this, esp. as prepared for infusion (cf. Paraguay tea n. at Paraguay n. 2). Cf. yerba n.
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herb of Paraguay1672
Indian tea1709
Algerian tea1728
Appalachian tea1728
Arabian tea1728
Canary tea1728
golden rod tea1728
Malay tea1728
Paraguay1728
South Sea tea1728
monarda1752
Oswego tea1752
Paraguay tea1760
Labrador tea1767
maté1768
marsh rosemary1777
blue mountain tea1785
alstonia1806
Ceylon tea1814
Canada tea1817
yerba-maté1818
honey bush1840
Wild Bergamot1843
Hottentot tea1850
kaffir tea1850
khat1858
Brazil tea1866
Mexican tea1866
St. Helena tea1875
rooibos1915
redbush1946
Hudson's Bay tea1948
bergamot1958
1672 T. Hill Let. 31 Mar. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1973) IX. 548 I have made strict inquiry about ye Herb of Paraguay, but without Succes.
1717 tr. A. F. Frézier Voy. South-Sea 252 During the Day, they make much Use of the Herb of Paraguay, which some call S. Bartholomew's Herb.
1769 London Mag. Oct. 512/2 The trade these Indians carry on..consists chiefly in wild wax and honey; and the herb of Paraguay.
1817 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 22 Aug. Chili receives in return wax, a kind of tallow fit to make soap, the herb of Paraguay, [etc.].
1850 T. Ewbank Hydraul. & Other Machines for raising Water (ed. 4) ii. iv. 203 The Peruvians make a tea or decoction of the ‘herb of Paraguay’, which is common to all classes.
1922 L. E. Elliott Chile Today & Tomorrow ii. 38 The small gourd, often beautifully carved and silver-mounted, from which it was and is usual to drink an infusion of the ‘herb of Paraguay’, in Chile and Peru.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1672