'oregano' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'origanon', where 'oros' meant 'mountain' and 'ganos' meant 'joy' or 'delight'.

'origanon' passed into Latin as 'origanum', then into Italian/Spanish as 'oregano', and was adopted into English as 'oregano'.

Initially it referred to the plant with the sense 'joy of the mountain'; over time it came to refer specifically to the herb used for culinary seasoning.