172 The Scottish Naturalist. 



which in Forfarshire has the form " groser," evidently the 

 French groseille. Gooseberry has nothing to do with goose. 



Goose-grass probably is a corruption of gorse-grass, from its rough- 

 ness. 



Wormwood has no reference to worm or wood. In Anglo Saxon 

 it is were-mod — preserver of the mind, on account of its sup- 

 posed virtues ; and our name is a corruption of the A. S. name. 



Duck-weed is a corruption of ditch-weed, because it covers old 

 moats and ponds. It is not food for ducks. 



Louse-wort (Pedicularis palustris), has only a doubtful connection 

 with that insect. Philology traces it rather to loose-wort, be- 

 cause the seeds are loosely held in the capsule and rattle 

 when dry. 



Badderlocks (Alaria esculenta), a Mearns name is, according to 

 Lindley, a corruption of Balderlocks or the locks of Balder, 

 a Scandinavian Deity, to whom other plants have been dedi- 

 cated. 



Blooming Sally (Bpilobium a?igusti folium), an Irish name for the 

 Flowering willow. Sally is a quaint corruption of the Latin, 

 Salix meaning willow. 



Agnus castus, one of the Vitex plants was called agnos (chaste), by 

 the Greeks, because ladies used it in couches as promoting 

 chastity. The monks, ignorant of Greek, mistaking agnos, 

 chaste, for the Latin agnus, a lamb, made it ag?ius castus, 

 chaste lamb. 



Bose-mary, Latin ros-marinus, or '* Sea-dew," from some fancied 

 connection with sea-spray. It was afterwards altered so as to 

 be "rose of Mary," in honour of the Virgin. 



Barberry, Arabic Barbaris, has nothing to do with berry. Pro- 

 bably it should be spelt " barbery." 



Gillyflower, formerly geraflour, a corruption of the old French 

 giroflee, from Greek, xupvipkkov — a clove tree, its flower having 

 been used, instead of cloves, to flavour wines. 



Orange, Spanish naranja, through Italian. The initial " n " was 

 dropped, then it came to be arenge, and lastly orange, from 

 fancied gold colour. (French, or, gold.) 



Pri?7irose is really a substitute for Old English primerole, Low Latin 

 primula, from primus, first. Primrose, as being /^ ime ox first 

 rose is thus a popular but erroneous etymology. The word 

 rose has no connection with primrose except by common 

 blunder. 



Amaranth is properly amarant, as used by Milton : — 



" Immortal amarant, a flower which once 

 In Paradise, fast by the tree of life, 

 Began to bloom." (Parad. Lost, III.) 



The termination anth is due to confusion with anthos, a flower^ 



