‖ carduus
(ˈkɑːdjuːəs)
The Latin word for ‘thistle’, formerly sometimes used in Eng. as the name of the Carduus benedictus or Blessed Thistle; esp. attrib., as in † carduus posset, † carduus water.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. xxxvi. (1495) 625 Carduus ben thystels grete and smale. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado iii. iv. 73 Get you some of this distill'd carduus benedictus and lay it to your heart. a 1613 Overbury A Wife (1638) 204 He utters a most abominable deale of Carduus water. 1647 Ashmole Diary (1774) 305 Taking a carduus posset at night, and sweating upon it. 1789 W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 677 Infusion of Carduus. Infuse an ounce of the dried leaves of carduus benedictus. |