Mallowwort
/ˈmæloʊˌwɜːrt/noun
A plant name historically used for a mallow or a mallow-like herb.
Did you know?The second element, -wort, is an Old English plant-name suffix meaning “plant” or “herb,” and it survives in words like mugwort and liverwort, where everyday botany still carries the ghost of ancient folk medicine.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*mel-
“to be soft, to be mild”
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wr̥tós
“turning, twisted”
Latin
Latin
malva
“mallow”
Old English
OE
mælwe wyrt
“mallow plant; herb used in folk healing”
Middle English
ME
malwe-wort
“mallow herb”
Modern English
English
mallowwort
“a mallow or mallow-like herb”