va|le|ri|an

va|le|ri|an «vuh LIHR ee uhn», noun.

1. a strong-smelling drug used to quiet the nerves, prepared from the roots of the common variety of valerian.

2. any one of a group of perennial herbs, cultivated for its medicinal root. Heliotrope, a kind of valerian, has small pinkish or white flowers and is often grown in gardens.

╂[< Old French valeriane or < Medieval Latin valeriana < Latin, adjective, probably ultimately < valēre be strong, of worth]