meadwort en · NOUN
Etymology
From Middle English medewort, from Old English medewyrt, medowyrt, corresponding to mead + wort. Cognate with Norwegian mjødurt, Danish mjødurt.
Meanings
-
(obsolete, uncountable) Meadowsweet, a plant found near rivers or on damp ground.
The metall first he mixt with Medæwart, / That no enchauntment from his dint might saue; / That it in flames of Aetna wrought apart, / And seuen times dipped in the bitter waue / Of hellish Styx, which hidden vertue to it gaue.
1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| medæwart | alternative | lexicographic |