† ˈgalloc Obs.
Also 1 gallac, galluc.
[perh. corruptly ad. late L. anagallicum (also anagalla; cf. class. L. anagallis, supposed to mean ‘pimpernel’); see quot. c 1450 s.v. comfrey.]
The plant comfrey (Symphytum officinale).
In OE. vocabularies the word renders not only sinfitum and confirma (comfrey) but also galla (in class. L. = gall-nut), adriatica, adriaca (of unknown meaning), and mālum terræ (in class. L. = birthwort). It is not clear whether the L. words were in late L. applied to the comfrey, or whether galluc denoted several different plants, or, finally, whether the glosses are mere mistranslations.
| [c 725 Corpus Gloss. 949 Galla, galluc.] c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 162 Ðeos wyrt þe man confirman & oðrum naman galluc nemneð. a 1100 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 299/20 Sinfitum, gallac. c 1265 Plant Voc. Ibid. 555/4 Cumfiria, cumfirie, galloc. |