spurge-wort
[f. spurge n.1 or v.1]
† 1. The plant Iris fœtidissima. Obs.
| 1562 Turner Herbal ii. (1568) 171 This herbe is called in the yle of Purbek Spourgewurt, because the iuyce of it purgeth. 1578 Lyte Dodoens 195 This herbe is called..in English Stinking Gladyn, Spourgeworte, and wilde Ireos. 1588 L. M. tr. Bk. Dyeing 63 Take the yelow flag, some doe call it spurgewort. |
2. Bot. Any plant belonging to the order Euphorbiaceæ. Also attrib.
| 1647 Hexham i. (Herbs), Spurge wort, Duyvels Melck⁓kruydt. 1845 Lindley Sch. Bot. 114 Euphorbiaceæ. Spurge⁓worts. 1846 ― Veg. Kingd. 275 In general the structure of Spurgeworts is very uniform. 1859 E. Capern Ballads & Songs 129 Where spurgewort and dog-mercury And cuckoo-flowers were found. 1866 Treas. Bot. 379/2 Dactylostemon, a genus of the spurge-wort family. |