Old English Complex Plant Names with the Element Wyrt Motivated by External Features of Plants

Abstract

This article is concerned with the study of Old English complex plant names with the element wyrt (“herb” in contemporary English) denoting external features of plants. The objective of the work is to analyse such plant names in relation to their motivation, etymology, and usage in Old English medical texts. The words in question are viewed in the context of their contemporary English equivalents; in some cases, the author considers plant names of German, other Germanic languages, and Russian. The sources used are dictionaries and other works concerning Old English plant names, as well as medico-botanical texts. Examples of the usage of plant names are taken from two Old English collections of medical texts, Leechbook (mid-10 th century) and Lacnunga (late 10 th — early 11 th century). All the plant names analysed are divided into 9 groups according to the type of their motivation. The author provides a detailed description of the largest group, which comprises plant names motivated by the external features of plants. These features include the colour of plants, their size, and the form of their parts (roots, leaves, stems, flowers, and spikes). Referring to the material collected, the author concludes that the motivation of the plant names in question is closely connected not only with people’s view of nature, but also with the usage of these plants in folk medicine.