Snakeweed
/ˈsneɪkˌwiːd/noun
A name for various plants, especially certain weeds or herbs with snake-like associations or reputed medicinal uses.
Did you know?Snakeweed is a folk plant-name, not a single species, and names like this often grew from old beliefs that a plant either resembled a snake, cured snakebite, or belonged to the hidden world of remedies and omens.
Etymological Timeline
Old English
OE
snaca
“snake, serpent”
Old English
OE
wēod
“weed, herb, plant”
Middle English
ME
snakewede
“a plant associated by name with snakes or snakebite remedies”
Early Modern English
English
snakeweed
“a folk name for various weedy or herbaceous plants”
Modern English
English
snakeweed
“a common name applied to several different plant species”