masterwort

American  

[mas-ter-wurt, -wawrt, mah-ster-] / ˈmæs tərˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt, ˈmɑ stər- /

noun

1. a European plant, Astrantia major, of the parsley family, having pinkish-rose or white flower clusters with purplish bracts beneath.

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Etymology

Origin of masterwort

First recorded in 1540–50; master + wort ²

Example Sentences

There's wormwood, woodsorrel, masterwort, zedoary, and angelica; and lastly, there is a little bottle of the sovereign preservative against the plague, as prepared by the great Lord Bacon, and approved by Queen Elizabeth.

From Old Saint Paul's A Tale of the Plague and the Fire by Ainsworth, William Harrison

Dr. Turner mentions the case of some Frenchmen at Antwerp, who, eating the shoots of this plant for masterwort, all died, with the exception of two, in forty-eight hours.

From Folk-lore of Shakespeare by Thiselton-Dyer, Thomas Firminger