wort

See also: Wort, wòrt, and wört

English

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wɜːt/
- Audio (UK) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /wɝt/, (spelling pronunciation) /wɔrt/
Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)t

Etymology 1

From Middle English wort, wurt, wyrte (“plant”), from Old English wyrt (“herb, vegetable, plant, crop, root”), from Proto-West Germanic *wurti, from Proto-Germanic *wurtiz, from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds. Doublet of root and related to orchard.

Noun

wort (plural worts)

(archaic) A plant; herb; vegetable.
- 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 54573970:
  he drinks water, and lives on wort leaves, pulse, like a hogg, or scraps like a dog […].
- 1651–1653, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year. […], 2nd edition, London: […] Richard Royston […], published 1655, OCLC 1051524189:
  It is an excellent pleasure to be able to take pleasure in worts and water, in bread and onions, for then a man can never want pleasure when it is so ready for him, that nature hath spread it over all its provisions.
Any of various plants or herbs, used in combination to refer to specific plants such as St. John's wort, or on its own as a generic term.
- 2009, Victoria Zak, 20,000 Secrets of Tea, page 172:
  Two saints are credited with giving St. John’s wort its name. One was St. John of Jerusalem, who used the wort (plant) during the crusades to heal his knights’ battlefield wounds, and the other was John the Baptist.

Derived terms

Terms derived from wort

adder's wort (Bistorta officinalis)
adderwort (Bistorta officinalis)
asterwort (Asteraceae spp.)
awlwort (Subularia aquatica)
banewort
barrenwort (Epimedium alpinum)
bearwort (Meum athamanticum)
bellwort
birthwort
bishop's wort (Stachys officinalis)
bitterwort
bladderwort
blawort
bloodwort
blue throatwort
blushwort
bogwort
boragewort
bridewort
brimstonewort
brotherwort
brownwort
bruisewort
bugwort
bullwort
burstwort
butterwort
cancerwort (Kickxia spp.)
catwort
clown's ringwort
colewort
common ragwort
coralwort
crosswort
damewort
danewort
dragonwort
dropwort*
dungwort
earwort*
ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron)
elderwort
European pillwort
fanwort
felonwort
feltwort
felwort
feverwort
figwort
flapwort (Rachicallis americana, syn. Rachicallis rupestris)
fleawort
flukewort
frostwort
fumewort
galewort
garlicwort
gentianwort
German madwort
gipsywort
glasswort
golden ragwort
goutwort
gutwort
gypsywort
hammerwort
hartwort
heathwort
hillwort
hogwort
holewort
honewort
honeywort
hoodwort
hornwort
ironwort
kelpwort
kidneywort
knotwort
laserwort
lazarwort
leadwort
lichwort
lilywort
liverwort
lousewort
lungwort*
lustwort
madderwort
madwort
maidenhair spleenwort
mallowwort
marshwort
masterwort
maudlinwort
maywort
meadowwort
milkwort
miterwort
mitrewort
modiwort
moneywort
moonwort
moorwort
motherwort
moudiewort
moudiwort
mountain spiderwort
mowdiewort
mudwort
mugwort
mulewort
nailwort
navelwort*
nettlewort
nipplewort
peachwort
pearlwort
pennywort*
pepperwort
peterwort
pilewort
pillwort
pipewort
quillwort
quinsywort
rattlewort
ribwort
rosewort
rupturewort
saltwort
sandwort
sawwort
scorpionwort
scurvywort
sea milkwort
sea ragwort
sea sandwort
setterwort
sicklewort
sleepwort
slipperwort
sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica)
soapwort
sparrowwort
spearwort (Ranunculus flammula)
spiderwort
spleenwort
spoonwort
springwort
spurwort
St. James' wort
St. John's wort
St. Peter's wort
stabwort
staggerwort
staithwort
standerwort
starwort*
staverwort
stinkwort
stitchwort
stonewort
strapwort
sulphurwort
swallowwort*
sweetwort
talewort
tetterwort
thoroughwort
throatwort
thrumwort
toothwort
towerwort
trophywort
wallwort
wartwort
waterwort
willowwort (Salicaceae spp.)
wortlike
wortlore
worty
woundwort*
wortcunning
yellow starwort (Inula helenium)
yellowwort (Blackstonia perfoliata)

* Entries containing derived terms containing wort

Translations

any of various plants or herbs

Dutch: kruid (nl) n
Finnish: ruoho (fi), yrtti (fi)
Icelandic: jurt (is) f
Japanese: 草 (ja) (くさ, kusa)
Serbo-Croatian: biljka (sh) f

Etymology 2

From Middle English wort, worte (“brewing wort”), from Old English wyrt, wyrte (“brewing wort, new beer, spice”), from Proto-West Germanic *wurtiju (“spice”), from Proto-Indo-European *wr̥h₂d- (“sprout, root”).

Cognate with Dutch wort (“wort”), German Würze (“wort, seasoning, spice”), Danish urt (“beer wort”), Swedish vört (“beer wort”).

Noun

wort (uncountable)

(brewing) Liquid extract from the ground malt and grain soaked in hot water, the mash, as one of the steps in making beer or whisky.
- 2004, Harold McGee, chapter 13, in On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Scribner, →ISBN:
  Making the wort with nothing but barley malt and hot water is the standard method in Germany, and in many U.S. microbreweries.
- 2017, Jon C. Stott, Beer 101 North:
  While Robert and I were chatting generally about the craft brewing explosion, Piper arrived in the taproom. He didn't call her his “ale wife,” but it soon became apparent that she had “good wort cunning.”

Translations

liquid extract

Czech: mladina f
Danish: urt (da)
Dutch: wort (nl)
Finnish: vierre (fi)
French: moût (fr)
German: Würze (de) f
Hungarian: cefre (hu), malátalé
Irish: braichlis f
Old English: wyrt f, ealoþwyrt f
Polish: brzeczka f
Russian: су́сло (ru) n (súslo)
Serbo-Croatian: sladovina f
Spanish: mosto (es)
Swedish: vört (sv)

Anagrams

ROTW, Trow, rowt, trow

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

wòrt, wört, wourd, wuart

Etymology

From Middle High German wort. Cognate with German Wort, Dutch woord, English word, Icelandic orð.

Noun

wort n

(Formazza) word

References

Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch worte, from Old Dutch *wurta, from Proto-West Germanic *wurtiju.

Pronunciation

Audio (file)

Noun

wort n (uncountable)

wort (unfermented beer)

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch wort.

Noun

wort n or f

word
diction, what someone says or writes
prescription, order

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Alternative forms

wōort

Descendants

Dutch: woord
Limburgish: waord, waordj

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English wyrt (“plant, herb”), from Proto-West Germanic *wurti, from Proto-Germanic *wrōts (oblique stem *wurt-), from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds. Doublet of rote (“root”).

Alternative forms

wert, woort, worte, wrt, wurte, wuyrte, wyrte

Pronunciation

(mainly Early ME) IPA^(key): /ˈwirt/
IPA^(key): /ˈwurt/

Noun

wort (plural wortes or worten)

A plant (not including trees, shrubs, etc.):
- c. 1395, John Wycliffe, John Purvey [et al.], transl., Bible (Wycliffite Bible (later version), MS Lich 10.)‎, published c. 1410, Matheu 13:31-32, page 6v, column 1; republished as Wycliffe's translation of the New Testament, Lichfield: Bill Endres, 2010:
  An oþer parable iheſus puttide foꝛþ to hem. / ⁊ ſeide / þe kyngdom of heuenes is lijk to a coꝛn of ſeneuey · which a man took ⁊ ſewe in his feeld · / which is þe leeſt of alle ſeedis / but whanne it haþ woxen .· it is the mooſt of alle woꝛtis · ⁊ is maad a tre / ſo þe bꝛiddis of þe eir comen ⁊ dwellen in þe bowis þerof.
  Jesus put another parable forwards to them, saying: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in their field; / it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is the largest of all plants; it becomes a tree, so the birds of the air come and nest in its branches."
1. A plant that is wild or not cultivated or harvested.
2. A plant that harvested or grown; often as a herb or vegetable.
3. A plant employed for supposed curative or medical properties.
4. A leaf as part of a salad or other vegetable dish.

Usage notes

This term is often used in compounds.

Related terms

bonwort
brotherwort
lyverwort
medewort
moderwort
mugwort
penywort
sperwort
walwort

Descendants

English: wort

References

“wǒrt, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-22.

Etymology 2

From Old English wyrt (“wort”), from Proto-West Germanic *wurtiju.

Alternative forms

woort, worte, wrt, wurt, wurte

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈwurt/

Noun

wort (uncountable)

Wort (as in brewing) or an analogous mixture (e.g. used for mead)

Descendants

English: wort
Scots: wort, wirt

References

“wǒrt, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-02-22.

Middle High German

Etymology

From Old High German wort.
The sense verb is a literal translation of Latin verbum.

Noun

wort n

word
(grammar) verb
- 14th century, Heinrich von Mügeln. Normalised spellings: 1867, Karl Julis Schröer, Die Dichtungen Heinrichs von Mügeln (Mogelîn) nach den Handschriften besprochen, Wien, p. 476:
  Nam, vornam, wort, darnâch
  zûwort, teilfanc, zûfûg ich sach,
  vorsatz, înworf under irem dach
  gemunzet und geformet stân.

Descendants

Alemannic German:
Alsatian: Wort
Italian Walser: wort, wourd, wuart, wòrt, wört
Swabian: Wort
Bavarian: Wort
Cimbrian: bóart, bort
Mòcheno: bourt
Udinese: boart, bort, bört
Central Franconian: Woot, Wort
Hunsrik: Wort
German: Wort
Luxembourgish: Wuert
Vilamovian: wiüt
Yiddish: וואָרט‎ (vort)

Old Dutch

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *word.

Noun

wort n

word

Inflection

Declension of wort

	Singular	Plural
nominative	wort	wort
accusative	wort	wort
genitive	wordes	wordo
dative	worde	wordon

Descendants

Middle Dutch: wort
- Dutch: woord
- Limburgish: waord, waordj

Old High German

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *word, whence also Old Dutch wort, Old Saxon and Old English word, Old Norse orð, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (waurd).
The sense verb is a literal translation of Latin verbum.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈwort/

Noun

wort n

word
(grammar) verb

Declension

Declension of wort (neuter a-stem)

case	singular	plural
nominative	wort	wort
accusative	wort	wort
genitive	wortes	worto
dative	worte	wortum
instrumental	wortu	—

Descendants

Middle High German: wort
- Alemannic German:
  Alsatian: Wort
  Italian Walser: wort, wourd, wuart, wòrt, wört
  Swabian: Wort
- Bavarian: Wort
  Cimbrian: bóart, bort
  Mòcheno: bourt
  Udinese: boart, bort, bört
- Central Franconian: Woot, Wort
  Hunsrik: Wort
- German: Wort
- Luxembourgish: Wuert
- Vilamovian: wiüt
- Yiddish: וואָרט‎ (vort)

Scots

Alternative forms

wirt

Etymology

From Middle English wort.

Noun

wort (uncountable)

(Middle Scots) wort

References

“wort” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

wort

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

Etymology 2

Noun

Translations

Further reading

Anagrams

Alemannic German

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

References

Dutch

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Middle Dutch

Etymology

Noun

Inflection

Alternative forms

Descendants

Further reading

Middle English

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Related terms

Descendants

References

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

Descendants

References

Middle High German

Etymology

Noun

Descendants

Old Dutch

Etymology

Noun

Inflection

Descendants

Further reading

Old High German

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Descendants

Scots

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

References