perilla

noun

pe·​ril·​la pə-ˈri-lə 

: any of a genus (Perilla) of Asian mints that have a bilabiate fruiting calyx and rugose nutlets

Examples of perilla in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Green perilla is minty and the most popular type and is used to flavor sushi, salads, soups, noodles, and beef. —Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 20 Mar. 2026

Its funky mysteries flicker in my brain until the perilla sorbet a couple of courses later washes it away. —Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026

The result isn’t fusion so much as a thoughtful conversation: wild fern salad beside smoked pork with perilla, banana blossom stew next to Rynsan’s now-famous fish cakes. —Karina Acharya, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Oct. 2025

Expect drinks like an espresso tonic with yuja (Korean citrus) and perilla. —Elena Kadvany, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin, genus name, of unknown origin

Note: Taxon introduced by Linnaeus in Genera plantarum, 6th edition, (Stockholm, 1764), p. 578. Linnaeus gives no source or explanation for the coinage. The name Perilla is known in Latin literature from poems addressed by Ovid to a real or pseudonymous "Perilla," though inscriptional evidence for such a given name in Rome is apparently lacking.

First Known Use

1900, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for perilla

• axilla
• flotilla
• gorilla
• guerilla
• guerrilla
• manilla
• mantilla
• maxilla
• mesilla
• papilla
• priscilla
• scintilla