104 POPULAR NAMES 



HATHER, see HEATH. 



HAVER, wild oat, Du. haver, G. haber or hafer, O.H.G. 

 haparo, O.N. hafra, Sw. hafre, Da. havre, Wai. hafar, a 

 name that, according to Holmboe, once meant corn generally, 

 but was gradually restricted to the species most commonly 

 used, the oat. J. Grimm (Gesch. d. D. Spr. i. 66,) supposes 

 it to be related to L. caper, a he-goat, but Diez with more 

 probability derives it from L. avena, with the usual prefix 

 of an aspirate, and the change of n to r. 



Avena sativa, etc., L. 



HAWK-BIT, or HAWK-WEED, from a notion entertained by 

 the ancients that with this plant hawks were in the habit 

 of clearing their eyesight. See Pliny (1. xx. c. 7). 



Hieracium, L. 



HAWK'S BEARD, a name invented by S. F. Gray, and 

 assigned, without any reason given, to the genus 



Crepis, L. 



HAWK-NUT, a name of which Kay says, (Syn. p. 209,) 

 "cujus noininis rationem non assequor," but undoubtedly 

 corrupted from Hog-nut, as it is correctly spelt in Jacob's 

 PI. Fav. p. 16. Bunium flexuosum, With. 



HAWTHORN, the thorn of haws, hays, or hedges, A.S. 

 hagaftorn, hceg-, or hege^orn, G. hagedorn, Sw. hagtorn, 

 an interesting word, as being a testimony to the use of 

 hedges, and the appropriation of plots of land, from a very 

 early period in the history of the Germanic races. The 

 term haw is incorrectly applied to the fruit of this tree in 

 the expression " hips and haws," meaning, as it does, the 

 fence on which it grows, A.S. haga or hcege, G, hage. 



CrataBgus Oxyacantha, L. 



HAYMAIDS, or HEDGEMAIDS, the ground ivy, a plant 

 common in hays and hedges, which has derived the 

 second syllable of its name from having been used as a 

 "gill" to ferment beer, Fr. guiller, a word that also bore 

 the meaning of "girl," or "maid," as in the proverb 



