'marrubium' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'marrubium', where it referred to the horehound plant.

'marrubium' was used in Medieval Latin botanical texts and was later adopted by Linnaeus as the genus name 'Marrubium' in modern botanical nomenclature.

Initially, it meant 'the horehound herb', but over time it evolved into its modern use as the name of the botanical genus 'Marrubium'.