fumitory
fumitory Lexical Profile
fumitory Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Any of various herbaceous annual or perennial flowering plants of the genus Fumaria (family Papaveraceae), native to Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia, characterized by finely divided, feathery gray-green foliage and slender racemes of small, tubular, two-lipped pink, purplish, or white blossoms tipped with dark crimson.
"Delicate clusters of pink fumitory bloomed along the stone wall at the edge of the cottage garden."
The dried aerial parts of the common fumitory plant (Fumaria officinalis), used in traditional herbal medicine as a bitter tonic, diuretic, and treatment for skin disorders.
"Medieval apothecaries frequently steeped dried fumitory to prepare herbal infusions for cleansing the skin."
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old French fumeterre, from Medieval Latin fumus terrae ('smoke of the earth'), so called either because its gray-green, finely divided foliage resembles smoke rising from the ground, or because its acrid juice causes the eyes to water like smoke.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.