Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Moonwort
Moon′wortˊ
(moōn′wûrtˊ)
, Noun.
(Bot.)
(a)
The herb lunary or honesty. See
Honesty
. (b)
Any fern of the genus
Botrychium
, esp. Botrychium Lunaria
; – so named from the crescent-shaped segments of its frond. Definition 2024
moonwort
moonwort
English
Noun
moonwort (plural moonworts)
- A small fern, Botrychium lunaria (lesser moonwort); later, any member of the genus. [from 15th c.]
- 1653, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, Folio Society 2007, p. 194:
- Moonwort is an herb which they say will open locks, and unshoe such horses as tread upon it.
- 1653, Nicholas Culpeper, The English Physician Enlarged, Folio Society 2007, p. 194:
- (now US, Britain regional) Honesty, Lunaria annua (greater moonwort). [from 16th c.]
Translations
Botrychium lunaria
Lunaria annua
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