164 POPULAR NAMES 



NAVEL-WORT, from the shape of its leaf, 



Umbilicus pendulinus, DC. 



NAVEW, Fr. naveau, from napellus, dim. of napus, the 

 rape, Brassica Napus, L. 



NECKWEED, a cant term for hemp, as furnishing halters 

 for the necks of criminals, Cannabis sativa, L. 



NECTARINE, It. nettarino, dim. of nettare, L. nectar, Gr. 

 veKTap, the drink of the gods, and called so from its flavour, 



Amygdalus persica, var. laevis, L. 

 NEELE, found in old books as a translation of Gr. fy&via, 

 and equivalent to cockle or darnel, Fr. nielle, L. nigella, 

 blackish, once used to mean weeds generally, but in later 

 works restricted to the larger ray grass. 



"Frumentis nocuam lolium Grsecus vocat herbam, 

 Quam nostri dicunt vulgar! more nigellam" Macer, c. 64. 



Lolium temulentum, L. 

 NEEDLE FURZE, from its delicate spines, 



Genista anglica, L. 

 NEP or NEPPE, contracted from L. nepeta, 



Nepeta cataria, L. 



NETTLE, A.S. and Du. netel, Da. naelde, Sw. naetla, 

 G. nessel, the instrumental form of net, the passive parti- 

 ciple of ne, a verb common to most of the Ind-European 

 languages in the sense of " spin" and " sew," Gr. veeiv, 

 L. ne-re, G. nd-hen, Skr. nah, bind. Nettle would seem to 

 have meant primarily that with which one sews. Applied to 

 the plant now called so, it indicates that this supplied the 

 thread used in former times by the Germanic and Scandi- 

 navian nations, which we know as a fact to have been the 

 case in Scotland in the seventeenth century. Westmacott 

 says (p. 76) " Scotch cloth is only the housewifery of the 

 nettle." In Friesland also it has been used till a late 

 period. Flax and hemp bear southern names, and were 

 introduced into the North to replace it. Urtica, L. 



BEE-, Galeopsis versicolor, Curt. 



