Baldmoney
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Meum athamanticum, an ornamental plant in the Apiaceae family. uncountable
- 2 A Gentianeae tribe plant, gentian or felwort. obsolete, uncountable
"Gentius king of Illyria was the first founder of this herbe, and the first that used it in medicine, for which cause it was called Gentian after his own name: in Greek, γεντιανή, which name also the apothecaries retaine unto this daie, and call it Gentiana: it is named in English Felwoort Gentian; Bitterwoort; Baldmoyne, and Baldmoney."
Example
More examples"Gentius king of Illyria was the first founder of this herbe, and the first that used it in medicine, for which cause it was called Gentian after his own name: in Greek, γεντιανή, which name also the apothecaries retaine unto this daie, and call it Gentiana: it is named in English Felwoort Gentian; Bitterwoort; Baldmoyne, and Baldmoney."
Etymology
Apparently a corruption of Latin valdē bona (“very good”) (a plant mentioned in Leonhart Fuchs's Great Herbal). Earliest forms seem to come from an intermediate, unattested French form baudemoine (modern French baudremoine) and by analogy to the plant name agrimony.
Related phrases
More for "baldmoney"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.