milkwort

[ milk-wurt, -wawrt ]

/ ˈmɪlkˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

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noun

any plant or shrub of the genus Polygala, formerly supposed to increase the secretion of milk.

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Origin of milkwort

First recorded in 1570–80; milk + wort²

Words nearby milkwort

milkweed bug, milkweed butterfly, milkweed family, milk-white, milkwood, milkwort, milky, milky disease, Milky Way, mill, millable

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use milkwort in a sentence

The Milkwort has flowers which are not always the same colour.
Flowers Shown to the Children|C. E. Smith
You may find them either pink, or blue, or white, but I think the blue Milkwort is the commonest.
Flowers Shown to the Children|C. E. Smith
The garden was full of weeds and flowers, with daisies on the lawn, and dandelions and milkwort among the beds.
Old Kensington|Miss Thackeray
In late spring the little flowers of the milkwort are common upon dry hill-slopes in the shade of the trees.
The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits|Mary Elizabeth Parsons

It is to be found in August and September on the common milkwort (Polygala vulgaris).
The Moths of the British Isles, Second Series|Richard South

British Dictionary definitions for milkwort

milkwort

/ (ˈmɪlkˌwɜːt) /

noun

any of several plants of the genus Polygala, having small blue, pink, or white flowers with two petal-like sepals: family Polygalaceae. They were formerly believed to increase milk production in cowsSee also senega

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