Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several plants formerly used to treat wounds.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A plant of the genus Stachys, particularly either of two species occurring in Great Britain, S. palustris, the marsh or clown's woundwort, and S. Germanica. The name alludes to a supposed vulnerary property.
  • noun The kidney-vetch, Anthyllis vulneraria, and occasionally other plants.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Bot.) Any one of certain plants whose soft, downy leaves have been used for dressing wounds, as the kidney vetch, and several species of the labiate genus Stachys.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun botany Any of several plants of the genus Stachys, including the hedge woundwort and the marsh woundwort. Formerly often used in poultices for wounds.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

wound +‎ wort

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Examples

  • Today I am searching for shieldbugs, and there they are sunning themselves on the wood woundwort.

    Country diary: East Yorkshire 2011

  • There are five singletons and two couples of woundwort shieldbug, which are quite small and rather drab – though the sun makes the dark spot on their back shine ruby-like – with a ruff of lace around their shoulders.

    Country diary: East Yorkshire 2011

  • There are five singletons and two couples of woundwort shieldbug, which are quite small and rather drab – though the sun makes the dark spot on their back shine ruby-like – with a ruff of lace around their shoulders.

    Country diary: East Yorkshire 2011

  • Today I am searching for shieldbugs, and there they are sunning themselves on the wood woundwort.

    Country diary: East Yorkshire 2011

  • It might have been a bitter root, such as Patroclus later used on a similar wound; an ancient commentator suggested Achillea (woundwort) or Aristolochia (birthwort).

    The Trojan War Barry Strauss 2006

  • It might have been a bitter root, such as Patroclus later used on a similar wound; an ancient commentator suggested Achillea (woundwort) or Aristolochia (birthwort).

    The Trojan War Barry Strauss 2006

  • Cadfael reached into the cupboard for a lotion to cleanse the wound, comfrey and cleavers and woundwort, which had got its name for good reason.

    The Heretic's Apprentice Peters, Ellis, 1913- 1989

  • Cadfael reached into the cupboard for a lotion to cleanse the wound, comfrey and cleavers and woundwort, which had got its name for good reason.

    The Heretic's Apprentice Peters, Ellis, 1913- 1989

  • Cadfael had brought also a draught to soothe the pain, a syrup of woundwort and Saint John's wort in wine, with a little of the poppy syrup added.

    An Excellent Mystery Peters, Ellis, 1913- 1985

  • They cleaned the broken wound of its exudations with a lotion of woundwort and sanicle, and dressed it with a paste of the same herbs with betony and the chickweed wintergreen, covered it with clean linen, and swathed the patient's wasted trunk with bandages to keep the dressing in place.

    An Excellent Mystery Peters, Ellis, 1913- 1985

Comments

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  • Surprising that this isn't featuring on one of those not-as-bad-as-it-sounds lists.

    December 20, 2018