fumitory

American  

[fyoo-mi-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] / ˈfju mɪˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i /

noun

fumitories plural

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

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fumitory British  

/ ˈfjuːmɪtərɪ, -trɪ /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fumitories
  plural

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fumitory fumitories

Amongst the loose stone-work of the walled lanes, where beryl-backed lizards peep in and out of every crevice, can be found fragrant violets and the delicate fumitory with its pink waxy bells.

From The Naples Riviera by Vaughan, Herbert M. (Herbert Millingchamp)

"It is the bulbous-rooted fumitory," said the young man, pulling a piece at random in the reckless way in which men do disfigure forest flower-beds.

From Brothers of Pity and Other Tales of Beasts and Men by Ewing, Juliana Horatia Gatty

If this general seed-sowing became a matter of principle, for instance, I should probably sow daisies on my neighbour's tennis lawn, poppies and fumitory in his cornfield, and dandelions in his meadow.

From The Pleasures of Ignorance by Lynd, Robert

The juice of fumitory is said to clear the sight, and the kennel-wort was once a popular specific for the king's-evil.

From The Folk-lore of Plants by Dyer, T. F. Thiselton (Thomas Firminger Thiselton)

Henry V. Apple, balm, docks, elder, fig, flower-de-luce, grass, hemp, leek, nettle, fumitory, kecksies, burs, cowslips, burnet, clover, darnel, strawberry, thistles, vine, violet, hemlock. 1st Henry VI.

From The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Ellacombe, Henry Nicholson

All the fumitories prefer a light soil and a sunny position.

From Small Gardens and How to Make the Most of Them by Biddle, Violet Purton

The fumitories are elegant plants, and nearly always in flower; the blossoms are small, yellow, sometimes white, and borne in profusion amongst the finely-cut foliage, which, the whole summer through, is a bright clear green.

From Small Gardens and How to Make the Most of Them by Biddle, Violet Purton