wort

¹ American  

[wurt, wawrt] / wɜrt, wɔrt /

noun

1. the unfermented or fermenting infusion of malt that after fermentation becomes beer or mash.

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wort ² American  

[wurt, wawrt] / wɜrt, wɔrt /

noun

1. a plant, herb, or vegetable (now usually used only in combination).

   figwort.

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wort British  

/ wɜːt /

noun

1. (in combination) any of various unrelated plants, esp ones formerly used to cure diseases

   liverwort

   spleenwort

2. the sweet liquid obtained from the soaked mixture of warm water and ground malt, used to make a malt liquor

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Etymology

Origin of wort¹

before 1000; Middle English; Old English wyrt; cognate with German Würze spice; akin to wort ²

Origin of wort¹

before 900; Middle English; Old English wyrt root, plant; cognate with Old High German wurz, Old Norse urt herb, Gothic waurts root; akin to root ¹, Old Norse rōt, Latin rādīx, Greek rhíza

Example Sentences

A solitary figure who preferred working alone and needed large doses of St. John’s wort to get through days when his studio buzzed with people.

From Los Angeles Times

We grew the new hybrids in a medium similar to beer wort for six months, to enhance their brewing performance.

From Salon

Large cone-shaped kettles are used to boil wort - liquid extracted from the initial brewing stage of mashing barley - generating steam.

From BBC

Controlling fermentation involves using either low temperatures to limit yeast activity, strains of yeast that are unable to break down certain sugars, or wort that is less fermentable.

From Salon

Q: St. John’s wort has certainly been effective for treating my depression.

From Seattle Times