Dictionary

herb twopence en · NOUN

Etymology

Suggested by Maud Grieve to be due to the leaves looking like rows of paired pennies.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) Moneywort (Lysimachia nummularia).
   • Have you one name? I have many: / “Wandering Sailor”, “Creeping Jenny”, / “Money-wort”, and of the rest / “Strings of Sovereigns” is the best, / (That’s my yellow flowers, you see.) / “Meadow Runagates” is me, / And “Herb Twopence”. [1934, Cicely Mary Barker, “The Herb Twopence Fairy”, in A Flower Fairy Alphabet:
   • Herbe 2 pence [1551, William Turner, A new Herball: