noun
egoma (type of perilla)
Archaic name for the plant Perilla frutescens var. frutescens. In modern Japanese, the plant is almost always referred to as 荏胡麻 (えごま). This standalone form is rare and mainly found in historical or botanical contexts.
See also: 荏胡麻
古い文献では「荏」の一文字でエゴマを指すことがある。
In old documents, the single character 荏 can refer to egoma.
Modern standard term for the same plant. 荏 is the archaic single-character form.
The kanji 荏 is a phono-semantic compound; the exact derivation of the Japanese reading え is uncertain. Historically used as a single-character name for the egoma plant.