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wort

1
[wurt, wawrt]
|

noun

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

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Nearby words

  1. worssett,
  2. worst,
  3. worst case,
  4. worst-case,
  5. worsted,
  6. worth,
  7. worth one's salt,
  8. worth one's weight in gold,
  9. worth one's while,
  10. worthful

Origin of wort

1
before 1000; Middle English; Old English wyrt; cognate with German Würze spice; akin to wort2

wort

2
[wurt, wawrt]

noun

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

Origin of wort

2
before 900; Middle English; Old English wyrt root, plant; cognate with Old High German wurz, Old Norse urt herb, Gothic waurts root; akin to root1, Old Norse rōt, Latin rādīx, Greek rhíza

wort

3
[wurt]

noun

whort.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for wort

British Dictionary definitions for wort

wort

noun

(in combination) any of various unrelated plants, esp ones formerly used to cure diseasesliverwort; spleenwort
the sweet liquid obtained from the soaked mixture of warm water and ground malt, used to make a malt liquor

Word Origin for wort

Old English wyrt root, related to Old High German warz, Gothic waurts root
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
Word Origin and History for wort

wort

n.

"a plant," Old English wyrt "root, herb," from Proto-Germanic *wurtiz (cf. Old Saxon wurt, Old Norse, Danish urt, Old High German wurz "plant, herb," German Wurz, Gothic waurts, Old Norse rot "root"), from PIE root *wrad- "twig, root" (see radish). St. John's wort attested from 15c.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper