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Meaning & History
Derived from German Thymian "thyme". It was used by German author Margarete Böhme (1867-1939) in her novel Tagebuch einer Verlorenen (1905; "The Diary of a Lost Girl"). The book purportedly tells the true story of Thymian, a young woman forced by circumstance into a life of prostitution. When first published in 1905, the book was said to be a genuine diary, though speculation quickly arose as to its authorship; today, Tagebuch einer Verlorenen is accepted as a work of fiction. Due in part to its sensational subject matter, the book proved extremely popular.