stitchwort

[stich-wurt, -wawrt]

noun

any of several plants belonging to the genus Stellaria, of the pink family, having white flowers.

Origin of stitchwort

1225–75; Middle English stichewort, Old English sticwyrt agrimony. See stitch, wort²

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

Examples from the Web for stitchwort

Historical Examples of stitchwort

In Devonshire the flowers of Stitchwort are known as Pixies.
Plant Lore, Legends, and Lyrics
Richard Folkard
The hedgerows had burst into tender green, and the banks were spangled with stitchwort and celandine stars.
A Terrible Tomboy
Angela Brazil
It feeds, in June and July, on flowers of stitchwort (Stellaria holostea).
The Moths of the British Isles, Second Series
Richard South
The Stitchwort is a tall, slender plant, and the flowers are large and very pretty.
Flowers Shown to the Children
C. E. Smith
Its name, stitchwort, no doubt alludes to the plant's supposed virtue in cases of "stitches" in the side.
Country Walks of a Naturalist with His Children
W. Houghton

British Dictionary definitions for stitchwort

stitchwort

noun

any of several low-growing N temperate herbaceous plants of the caryophyllaceous genus Stellaria, having small white star-shaped flowers

Word Origin for stitchwort

C13: so named because it was once thought to be a remedy for stitches in the side

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