darnel en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
From Middle English darnel, dernel, from Old Northern French darnelle ( > dialectal French dernelle, darnette), of Germanic origin, possibly Proto-West Germanic *darjan (“to harm, injure”). Displaced native Old English boþen. Related to Walloon darne, derne (“stunned, dazed, drunk”), Middle Dutch verdarnt, verdaernt (“stunned, dumbfounded, angry”). The association with being dazed or drunkenness is due to the well-known intoxicating effects of the plant.
Meanings
-
(uncountable, usually) Any of the genus Lolium of grasses, especially as a weed in wheat fields.
With harlocks, hemlock, nettles, cuckoo-flowers, / Darnel, and all the idle weeds that grow / In our sustaining corn.
c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:Poppies, hemp, and darnel were scavenged, dried, and ground up to produce a medieval hash brownie known as "crazy bread".
1999, Robert Lacey, Danny Danziger, The Year 1000: What life was like at the turn of The First Millennium, London: Abacus, published 2000, page 102:
- (uncountable, usually) Any of the genus Lolium of grasses, especially as a weed in wheat fields. ▸ Especially, the species Lolium temulentum, often host to a fungus toxic to humans and animals.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| darnels | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Relateds
Synonyms
white darnel · white darnel · ryegrass · poison darnel · bearded darnel · bearded darnel · ryegrass · poison darnel
Translations (47)
es espantapájaros (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · cy efrau (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · gl xoio (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · zh 毒麥 /毒麦 (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · es cizaña forrajera (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · ja 毒麦 (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · gl lerica (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · ru головоло́м (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · gl tarela (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · eu iraka (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · hu konkolyperje (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · vec loi (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · tr karaçayır (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · ru пле́вел опьяня́ющий (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · de Taumellolch (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · vec lojo (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · fi myrkkyraiheinä (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · ru пле́вел пьяня́щий (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · fr ivraie enivrante (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · pt joio (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · tr acımık (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · vec logio (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · it loglio (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · la lolium (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · ca jull (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · de Rauschgras (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · nn skjæraks (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · grc ζιζάνιον (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · sv dårrepe (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · hu szédítő vadóc (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · bg глушица (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · he זוּן (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · pl życica roczna (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · ca zitzània (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · es cizaña (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · it zizzania (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · nl dolik (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · de Taumel-Lolch (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · da giftig rajgræs (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · ro sălbăție (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · nn raigras (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · nn svimling (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · eo lolo (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · hy գիժ հաց (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · pt cizânia (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · tr delice (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields) · grc αἶρα (type of ryegrass found in wheatfields)