BETONY

Etymology

Noun

betony (countable and uncountable, plural betonies)

Any plant of the genus Stachys.

Stachys officinalis (syn. Betonica officinalis), an herb used in traditional European medicine.

(North America) Any plant of the genus Pedicularis (louseworts).

Synonyms

• (Stachys): heal-all, self-heal, woundwort, lamb's ears, hedgenettle

• (Stachys officinalis): purple betony, bishopwort, wild hop, bishop's wort, common hedgenettle, lousewort, wood betony

• (Pedicularis): lousewort, wood betony

Source: Wiktionary


Bet"o*ny, n.; pl. Betonies. Etym: [OE. betony, betany, F. betoine, fr. L. betonica, vettonica.] (Bot.)

Definition: A plant of the genus Betonica (Linn.).

Note: The purple or wood betony (B. officinalis, Linn.) is common in Europe, being formerly used in medicine, and (according to Loudon) in dyeing wool a yellow color.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

25 March 2025

IMMOBILIZATION

(noun) fixation (as by a plaster cast) of a body part in order to promote proper healing; “immobilization of the injured knee was necessary”


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

coffee icon