Dragonwort
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Common bistort, a perennial herb of Europe and Asia, of species Bistorta officinalis (syns. Persicaria bistorta, Polygonum bistorta), formerly used as an astringent.
- 2 Dragon arum, a perennial herb of Greece and the Balkans, of species Dracunculus vulgaris.
- 3 Tarragon, an edible aromatic herb, of species Artemisia dracunculus, in the daisy family, Asteraceae.
- 4 Green dragon, of species Arisaema dracontium
Etymology
From dragon + wort. Compare Middle English dragaunce, dragunce, dragance, dragans (“dragonwort”), from Old French dragonce, dragance, from Medieval Latin draguncia, dragancia (“dragonwort”), disfigured from the plural of dracontium (“dragonwort”), from Ancient Greek δρακόντιον (drakóntion, “dragonwort”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.