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Culver's root

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noun
  1. the root of a tall plant, Veronicastrum virginicum, of the figwort family, having spikelike clusters of small, white, tubular flowers, used in medicine as a cathartic and emetic.
  2. the plant.
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Origin of Culver's root

1710–20, Americanism; named after Dr. Culver, 17th–18th-century American physician
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for culver's root

Culver's root

Culver's physic

noun
  1. a tall North American scrophulariaceous plant, Veronicastrum virginicum, having spikes of small white or purple flowers
  2. the dried roots of this plant, formerly used as a cathartic and emetic
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Word Origin

C19: named after a Dr Culver, 18th-century American physician
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