bistort

[bis-tawrt]

noun

Also called snakeweed. a European plant, Polygonum bistorta, of the buckwheat family, having a twisted root, which is sometimes used as an astringent.

any of several related plants, as P. viviparum (alpine bistort).

Origin of bistort

First recorded in 1570–80, bistort is from the Medieval Latin word bistorta twice twisted. See bis¹, tort

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bistort

Historical Examples of bistort

The roots of bistort and tormentil, and bark of pomegranate, equal parts.
Cooley's Practical Receipts, Volume II
Arnold Cooley
From the dried root of bistort or snake-weed (Polygonum Bistorta), by percolation with temperate distilled water.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I
Arnold Cooley
Adder's-wort, a name of snakeweed or bistort (Polygŏnum Bistorta), from its supposed virtue in curing the bite of serpents.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 1
Various
Bistort makes pink islands amid hay grass that waits the scythe.
Lancashire
Leo H. (Leo Hartley) Grindon

British Dictionary definitions for bistort

bistort

noun

Also called: snakeroot, snakeweed, Easter-ledges a Eurasian polygonaceous plant, Polygonum bistorta, having leaf stipules fused to form a tube around the stem and a spike of small pink flowers

Also called: snakeroot a related plant, Polygonum bistortoides, of W North America, with oval clusters of pink or white flowers

any of several other plants of the genus Polygonum

Word Origin for bistort

C16: from French bistorte, from Latin bis twice + tortus from torquēre to twist

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012