fumitory

[fyoo-mi-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

noun, plural fu·mi·to·ries.

any plant of the genus Fumaria, especially a delicate herb, F. officinalis, having finely dissected, grayish leaves and spikes of purplish flowers.

Origin of fumitory

1350–1400; alteration of earlier fumiterre, Middle English fumetere < Middle French < Medieval Latin fūmus terrae literally, smoke of the earth; literal sense uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for fumitory

Historical Examples of fumitory

The green leaves of the Fumitory are very delicate and pretty.
Flowers Shown to the Children
C. E. Smith
The fumitory is a perpetual bloomer from July till killed by the autumn frosts.
Riverby
John Burroughs
Diadelphia: stamens united into two distinct sets; as in fumitory.
Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnus
William MacGillivray
Fumitory helps such as are itchy and scabbed, helps Rickets, madness, and quartain agues.
Every Day Life in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
George Francis Dow
Fumitory, too, was grown by the housewives, and was used as a tonic and a remedy for jaundice.
The Mystery and Romance of Alchemy and Pharmacy
Charles John Samuel Thompson

British Dictionary definitions for fumitory

fumitory

noun plural -ries

any plant of the chiefly European genus Fumaria, esp F. officinalis, having spurred flowers and formerly used medicinally: family Fumariaceae

Word Origin for fumitory

C14: from Old French fumetere, from Medieval Latin fūmus terrae, literally: smoke of the earth; see fume

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