244 POPULAR NAMES 



WAGWANT, a West-country term supposed to mean wag- 

 ' wanton, Fr. in Clusius (p. ccxviii), amourettes tremblantes, 

 the quaking-grass, so called from its quivering spikelets, 



Briza media, L. 



WAKE-PINTLE, a name given in Florio and Torriano's 

 Dictionary as the translation of Ital. Aro, and apparently 

 identical in its meaning with Wake-robin, and Cuckoo-pint, 

 the wake being, like cuckoo, a modern form of A.S. cwic, 

 cucu, and Low. Germ, quek, alive, and the noun allusive 

 to its supposed aphrodisiac powers. Arum maculatum, L. 



WAKE ROBIN, from Fr. robinet, a word of the same 

 meaning as pintle. See CUCKOO-PINT and WAKE-PINTLE. 



Arum maculatum, L. 



WALE-WORT, or WALL-WORT, the dwarf elder, A.S. weal- 

 wyrt, from A.S. wal, slaughter, or wealh, foreign, and cor- 

 responding to the other names of the plant, Danesblood and 

 Danewort, which Aubrey tells us were given to it from its 

 growing at a village called Slaughterford in Wiltshire, 

 where it is supposed that an army of Danes was destroyed. 

 In German walwurz means the comfrey. Ort. San. (c. xcv.). 

 Brunsch. (b. ii. c. xx.). Sambucus Ebulus, L. 



WALNUT, or WELSH NUT, A.S. wealh-hnut, from wealh, 

 foreign, G. wdlsch, O.H.G. walah, Fr. gauge, an adjective 

 used more particularly of Italy, from whence the tree was 

 introduced into Northern Europe, Juglans regia, L. 



WALL BARLEY, a barley that grows about walls, and 

 which seems to have been taken for the species called by 

 Pliny (1. xxii. c. 25) lolium murinum, mouse-darnel, the 

 murinum of which was confused with murale, and under- 

 stood as wa^-darnel. Thus Tragus explains the name, as 

 given to the plant, " weil es von sich selbst auf den Mawren 

 wachst ; " and Turner tells us (part ii. p. 17) : " It is called 

 of the Latines Hordeum murinum, that is, Wall-barley." 

 See MOUSE-BARLEY. Hordeum murinum, L. 



WALL CRESS, Arabis, L. 



