mayweed
(ˈmeɪwiːd)
[For *maythe-weed: see maythe and cf. maidweed.]
= maythe 1.
| 1551 in Strype Eccl. Mem. II. App. A. 145 That ground, which..was most to be nobly adorned with corn,..now..replenished with mayweed, thistles, docks. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 112 The May weed doth burn and the thistle doth freat. 1597 Gerarde Herbal ii. ccxlix. 617, 1 Cotula fœtida. Maie weede. 2 Cotula lutea. Yellow Maie weede. 1657 C. Beck Univ. Charac. I iv b, Oxe-eye, vid. may weed. 1672 J. Josselyn New-Eng. Rarities 86 May-weed, excellent for the Mother; some of our English Housewives call it Iron Wort. 1758 R. Brown Compl. Farmer (1759) 94 Rub the place with wormwood, nettles, may-weed. 1892 Jefferies Toilers of Field 310 The mayweed fringes the arable fields with its white rays and yellow centre. |