hermodactyl

English

Etymology

From Medieval Latin hermodactylus, from Ancient Greek ἑρμοδάκτυλος (hermodáktulos, “Hermes's finger”).

Noun

hermodactyl (plural hermodactyls)

  1. (obsolete) A type of root, probably from a plant of the genus Colchicum, as imported and used in Western medicine.
    • 1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed by John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC:
      , II.4.1.ii:
      […] turbith, agaric, myrobolanes, hermodactyls, from the East Indies, tobacco from the West […]
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.