moonwort

[ moon-wurt, -wawrt ]

/ ˈmunˌwɜrt, -ˌwɔrt /

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noun

any fern of the genus Botrychium, especially B. lunaria, a rare fern having fronds with crescent-shaped leaflets.

honesty (def. 4).

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Origin of moonwort

First recorded in 1570–80; moon + wort²

Words nearby moonwort

moonshot, moonstone, moonstruck, moonwalk, moonward, moonwort, moony, moor, moorage, moorbird, moorburn

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

How to use moonwort in a sentence

Moonwort has (or perhaps had) a miraculous effect on iron, with power to open locks or unshoe horses.
Devon, Its Moorlands, Streams and Coasts|Rosalind Northcote
Soldanel, sol′da-nel, n. a plant of the genus Soldanella, of the order Primulace—the blue moonwort.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements)|Various
I have the wild rosehip, and the flat shield of the moonwort, and a pea-pod, and more whose names I know not.
The Dove in the Eagle's Nest|Charlotte M. Yonge

British Dictionary definitions for moonwort

moonwort

/ (ˈmuːnˌwɜːt) /

noun

Also called (US): grape fern any of various ferns of the genus Botrychium, esp B. lunaria, which has crescent-shaped leaflets

another name for honesty (def. 4)

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