Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GIN'SENG, n. [This word is probably Chinese, and it is said by Grosier, to signify the resemblance of a man, or man's thigh. He observes also that the root in the language of the Iroquois is called garentoquen, which signifies legs and thighs separated. Grosier's China, i. 534.]

A plant, of the genus Panax, the root of which is in great demand among the Chinese. It is found in the northern parts of Asia and America, and is an article of export from America to China. It has a jointed, fleshy, taper root, as large as a man's finger, which when dry is of a yellowish white color, with a mucilaginous sweetness in the taste, somewhat resembling that of licorice, accompanied with a slight bitterness. Encyc.